Asazi
by Covin
Summary: A finished novel about the assassin Asazi's haunting past. (Strictly Pg-13)
1. Colorado

**BEFORE YOU READ THIS STORY: **Hey people. Before you read this story, please beware that it is rated PG—13 for a reason. This story's first few chapters are going to be much darker than X's Dream or any other fic I've written. I DO warn you that this story is rated PG—13 for descriptive violence, strong language, and some suggestive stuff. There are some chapters in which the language gets pretty bad but I think it still fits as PG—13.  Thanx for your time.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Action Man so leave me alone. 

Asazi

_Prologue_

This is my diary. My life's thoughts and dreams. Before I became Asazi. Before I became the killer…and the time it took for me to become one. 

And the times about my killing. This is my story, though I may not seem like the kind of person, the kind of woman to write this story…but I am. In secret, I have my own plans, my own life to live… But because of _them_, my life was different, and most of my dreams became idiocies of life. 

So read about my life, read about _why_ I kill others and _why_ Dr. X fears me more than Alex Man or any other human. And why I help Dr. X. So read and learn…

_Chapter 1_

I was born in Colorado; I don't know my real birthday. I don't remember…but it all started when I was six. When I had a perfect, movie-like life…

"Mommy! School was fun today!"

She looked at me with her pretty, blonde-haired and blue-eyed face. "Really? What'd you do that made it fun?" She asked me in a fun voice.

As I got into our car, I eagerly replied, "I climbed onto the ladder on the playground. You know that one that is really scary? I climbed and went down the really big slide! And I did it by myself!"

Her mouth opened with a smile and she said, "That's great! Did you do any papers today?"

"Uh huh! I made a ninety, a hundred and a ninety-five! Are they good?"

She smiled again. "Yes they are."

I happily put on the seat belt and she started driving away from the school's pick-up area. I looked out the window that I had rolled down, at the partly cloudy skies, the sun streaming down and heating the concrete pavement. It was almost summer. Almost time for school to get out and me too play with my friends.

I had plans. Me and my friends were going to climb trees, have fun, watch cartoons (bugs bunny!) and just-plain-have _fun_. 

We turned onto a highway; my mom sped up to match the speed of other cars. "Is Daddy going to be home when we get home," I asked, hope in my voice. The wind from the open window blew into my face, refreshing me from the heat.

She answered in a playful voice, "Actually, Daddy is _right behind_ you—''

SCRREEECH! BAM! BAM! EERRRR! "AAAAA!" I screamed. I screamed and screamed. I opened my eyes to see the road…_below us._ We were high in the air, actually flying through the air. I glanced at my Mommy only to see a human body covered in blood. 

I screamed more and looked out the windshield. The road was coming up fast. We hit the highway, our car smashing into the concrete. Suddenly a body flew past me from behind, in between my mommy's seat and my seat.

The body flew through the windshield and onto the hard pavement of the highway. It splattered but as our car began to lean forward, I saw the person's face…it was my Daddy. His body was splattered across the road, blood everywhere.

I screamed again but this time not in fear. I screamed in anguish. Our car started falling forward onto the road when I saw a shadow in the corner of my eye, a shadow of a truck coming up from behind us—BAM!!

More sounds of splintering glass filled my ears and then my head flew forward and hit the dashboard. As my vision dimmed, I saw my Mommy in the seat next to me, covered in blood, her face not even recognizable…_and it was then that I died._

-_-

Blackness filled my vision. I slowly opened my eyes to see a bright light. I couldn't see past it but hands were moving in and out of it…

I heard voices but they were faint…distant. I blinked and suddenly there was pain in my stomach. Pain so horrible. It engulfed me and I moaned. 

The voices became clearer. 

"Crap, she's awake. Inject two more milligrams of versed and ten more Demerol. And hurry because if she moves, she's in deep shit."

Two hands moved out of the light but the other two stayed. There were a few more murmurs and I heard the doctor say, "The glass is right on the edge of her Transverse colon." I started to move my head when there was a sudden pain in my throat. 

A devastating pain. "The other piece of glass has pierced her throat, not deep yet but will take careful removal—where's that damn Demerol?!"

There was a little stinging pain in my arm, in my elbow. It lasted for a few seconds then it was gone. The pain in my stomach suddenly soared and my moaned again. "He…hel…help…," I muttered. I feminine voice gently said, "It's okay. You're gonna be okay darling…"

"Mo…Mom…me…"

And then the light began to fade and I lost consciousness…

-_-

When I woke up, the light was gone and I was alone. I was in a bed, soft and large. The room was large; a curtain surrounded my bed and when I felt a small pinch in my arm, I looked at it.

There was a needle in it. The needle had a string-thing attached to it and the string thing was attached to a little bag of water. I blinked. I was in a hospital, where sick people go. 

I blinked again and in that split second I remembered everything. It came back to me in flashes. The car in the air—the body…my Daddy splattered across the pavement—my Mommy's blood-covered body next to me in the car—the dashboard red with my blood just before I went to sleep.

Slowly, as more memories filled my head, I began to cry. Silently cry. My Mom and Dad were gone and I was alone in a hospital. Alone with the bandages on my neck and my tummy—stomach. I was alone…

_It was then that I realized my death, realized that I was alone in this world. Alone, hurt, and without a home…_

-_-

A few days later, my stomach had to undergo surgery because another piece of windshield glass was in buried under the skin and flesh of my torso.

I don't know how long I was in the hospital. At least three weeks. 

During that time I watched movies that the doctors and nurses didn't know I watched. Mainly movies about children on their own but I watched violent movies that taught me how to be careful and not trust anybody. I had learned how to study people by reading mystery books. I became a 'lone-wolf'. 

I vowed to never trust anybody or depend on anybody. 

When I was able to leave, I was transferred to my Uncle's house. He lived in Florida and was _not_ a good man. I knew about that from my Mommy…my _dead_ mommy.

I was waiting in the hospital's lobby when my Uncle, his name Uncle Shawn. He had to come and pick me up because I was in Colorado. He had driven by car and I immediately knew that he was not to be trusted. 

You see, I had learned fast that I had to grow up. I was alone and I couldn't trust anybody. So when Uncle Shawn came into the lobby at the hospital, I studied him and watched how he walked, how he talked to the people at the desk. He was obviously 'street-smart'. 

And from the way he talked, he was probably a secretive person. He was tall, blackish-brownish hair, but he wasn't well built. He was skinny and pale. I knew right off that he was a drug seller. How did I know right off? He had pens sticking out of his jean pockets that didn't have black ink. Instead they had white powder, better known as cocaine or marijuana.

He was an illegal substance dealer, and probably _user_. I planned on running away during our road trip back to Florida. He flirted with the nurse at the desk for a little while and then she pointed toward me. He glanced over at me and plastered the fakest smile I've ever seen onto his face. 

He casually walked over to me, pretending to be happy to finally meet me.

"Hi! I'm you Uncle Shawn! How are you doing?"

I didn't answer. Instead I stared him down and kept my lips sealed. I had matured in the past few weeks I had been in the hospital and I knew that I couldn't trust him. 

"You wanna go to my house now? It's really, really far from here so we better get going!" He spoke in an enthusiastic voice like Mom's but I knew it was fake. I knew because his eyes betrayed him. His eyes told me everything. 

He also spoke to my like I was a dumbass. I wasn't dumb. I could tell he was a person that wanted power in his screwed up life. 

But I didn't say anything, just got up and followed him outside and into the parking lot. He walked over to one corner of the lot and proudly stood next to a blue Chevette. He beamed at it and moved his hand over the roof. "Isn't she great," he asked, as if it was the best thing.

I shook my head 'no' and he frowned. 

"In that case," his voice had a dangerous edge, "get in and don't say a thing on the trip."

I complied but when he got in on the other side, behind the wheel, I realized that this trip was going to dangerous. He had drugs and he was the driver.

He started the car…_tried _to start the car. It didn't start and he muttered a very rude word, probably forgetting I was next to him. He got out and popped the hood, studying the engine. I saw his arms move around inside the engine through the thin line between the hood and windshield. 

I blinked and—SLAM! I jumped up to see that he was done, the hood down and him climbing back into the car. He was smiling—he had meant to scare me. 

_Don't worry Uncle Shawn_, I thought to myself, _I'll get you back in a way that you can never get me back._

Shawn started the engine and it smoothed itself into working order. He shifted into reverse and in a minute we were cruising down the freeway. Cruising toward Florida where my Uncle Shawn, a drug-seller and a power-hungry person lived. 

But I knew that if a man that's life is already as bad as his _and_ he's power-hungry…I knew that that would lead to me being at the center of his power. And that meant him hurting me and touching me in sinful ways…

_I knew that I had to leave but…I didn't. And to this day I still regret it…_

**Author's Note**

Hey people…I know it's a dark fic but…I think Asazi's character in the show is too brief. Her childhood needs to be explained so I volunteered for it…

I also know that there are glitches in this chapter and other numerous errors and stuff so, if you would, bare with me in the fact that this story IS going to get better. I just have to write her childhood first. So please review and please, each time I post a chapter, read and review it because this fic WILL get better. Be patient……


	2. The Pool

Asazi ****

NOTES: If there is an underlined word, it's Asazi's thoughts. If anything is italicized, it's Asazi thinking from the present (this is sort of a flashback). If a word is **bolded**, it's emphasized. I'm NOT going to write this stuff again so make a note of this and read on **and review**. 

Asazi

__

Chapter 2

We had made it to Missouri without any more conversation…or confrontation for that matter. But things were heating up. I didn't answer him and he thought that was a sign of disrespect. Actually, it was. He wasn't a good person so why treat him with respect?

Missouri in the summertime is actually quite a nice place but…I couldn't escape at anytime while we were there. We made numerous bathroom and food stops of course but as our trip continued, he began to stop once or twice every hour. 

At first I wondered why but as we passed the sign that said welcome to…_I can't remember which state it was_…I realized what he was doing. The more we traveled the slower he got and the more he switched lanes in the highway. 

And as we went into another state, I realized that he was getting high in the bathrooms of every stop. He kept on craving and the more he did, the more he switched lanes and the slower he got. When we reached Tallahassee Florida, we retired for the night in a hotel. 

He said, "You sleep on the floor because I can't afford a double room." That's because you are getting high on your on supply you undisciplined freak, I thought. I bet you were planning on selling some or your dope to the hotel guy but you got high on the way here…

He parked the car in the Hotel 6 parking lot and we walked to our room. Number 306. It was on a second story and I made a note that the hotel's pool was down the stairs and through the door on the right. He unlocked the door and entered our room; I followed him.

He immediately hopped onto his bed after tossing the keys onto a small table and turned on the TV. "We got eight channels," the hotel guy had said earlier. I looked around the room; it was somewhat nice. The bed was in the middle, a small table with two chairs around it on the opposite side of the room and a bathroom door beside the table.

I'm very vulnerable in this room.

I heard a sniff and looked at Uncle Shawn. He had part of one of his fake pens up his left nostril. I turned away and said, with my back facing him, "I'm going for a swim." I heard him sit up with surprise.

"You talked?!"

"Yes, I did. I'm going for a swim." My back was still facing him and I vowed to myself that I would never talk to him with my face toward him. 

"Interesting," he replied, as if studying a specimen. "You don't talk like a six-year-old does…go on, get outta here. I'll leave the door unlocked."

It suddenly occurred to me that he could lock me out. He obviously didn't care about me so he probably would. I then decided that I should get the keys to the room, just in case. I turned around and walked into the bathroom and pretended to wash my hands. 

When I was done, I walked out and sat at the table that had the keys on it. I sat for a minute and watched the show Uncle Shawn was watching. It was nasty. I had seen people do this on a few of the movies I had watched in the hospital but not like this. 

I quietly took the keys from the table and put them in my left pocket. I was wearing jean shorts and a T-shirt. Suddenly Uncle Shawn looked at me and said, "I thought you were going swimming."

I got up and left the hotel room, disgusted with my immature uncle and afraid that he would do to me what those actors were doing in the show. I walked down the stairs, turned and entered the door on the right. Behold the pool.

A skylight was above the pool; the watery light reflecting onto the walls created a beautifully exotic scene. I smiled for the first time since my parent's death…their death…

Tears came to my eyes as I thought about them. Tears then began to flow like a river into the pool as I treaded in the deep section, remembering the great times we had together. When my sixth birthday was celebrated, my first bike ride, my first day of school…my tears not only blurred my vision but they blurred my thoughts. 

They were gone. Never to return to me again…my Daddy was a truck driver and he wasn't home very much…then a thought hit me. What was he doing in the back seat of our car? He wasn't supposed to be home for another two days…he was there to surprise me…

My realization only brought more tears. Mommy and Daddy gone forever. Their faces now unrecognizable and buried in the dirt…and I never even got to attend their funeral. 

I sobbed and sobbed. For how long I don't know but I decided that I would never have children. No matter what I would never have children. I could die and break their hearts and they would live like I planned too. And I would…

Tears. Tears and tears and tears. I cried hard. And somehow, in the middle of the pool, I cried myself to sleep…

-_-

"Oh **shit**!" The voice was frantic and surprised. It also had a hint of fear in it. "What the hell are you…"

I slowly began to wake up. I felt water all around me except my face. My back and butt were on something rough, like sandpaper but underwater. I opened my eyes to see a man with a large beard peering down at me. 

"AAA," he screamed when I opened my eyes. 

I slowly leveled my head and looked around. I was in the pool, the shallow end, and my backside leaning against the wall of the pool. How did I get over here…?

"Are you okay young lady," the man asked. I pushed with my feet off the wall and went to the middle of the pool before even looking at him. He was tall, a large, white and gray beard protruding from his face. His arms weren't equal though…I looked closely and saw that his left arm ended at his elbow. He was missing half of his left arm.

"Yes," he said, "I lost that in a tractor accident a few years ago." I frowned, realizing that I had stared and he had noticed. I must've been slow waking up because next thing I noticed was that sunlight was filtering into the poolroom from the skylight above. 

I looked up and was temporarily blinded by the high noon sun. High noon?! Uncle Shawn is gone! I thought about that for a moment and decided 'good riddance'. I didn't have to runaway. He left me. At first that thought hurt, the fact that he left me, the fact that he didn't care…_I was young and still didn't understand everything…_

The man was giving me a suspicious look. "How long you been in this here pool?" 

I decided to talk and tell the truth. "Since last night, around ten."

His eyes widened with shock. "And you're alive! You were asleep when I came in here." He paused, then said with an astonished smile, "A miracle."

I frowned. "What miracle?"

"You must've fallen asleep in the pool. Knowing most kids like your age you were in the deep end too, am I right?" I nodded. "If you fell asleep, you would've drowned. Yet you're alive."

Is that a good thing, I asked myself. I shrugged my shoulders and they shocked me with stiff, sore pain. He noticed that too and said, "You sleepswam to the other side!" He started laughing hard. 

I made a face and remembered a movie about a serial killer going across America. This man reminded me of him and I made a then remembered that the man in the movie was insane. Was this man insane? 

"So—where's your Daddy," he asked next. My face went from somewhat happy to completely sour. 

"He's dead," I spat. Why'd I say that? That's not his business! 

_I guess for some reason, I felt that I could trust him. Back then, I was desperate for help, affection in a good way. I don't know why but I decided I could trust him._

He raised an eyebrow and said, "Who are you staying with here?"

"My Uncle Shawn, but he's…not…he's not good."

"In what way?"

"He sells drugs and he's power-hungry. He doesn't have control on his life and he wants control. I **know** that eventually he's going to start hurting me and tou—''

"**There** you are," exclaimed a familiar, fearful voice. Uncle Shawn.

I turned around with my stiff arms to see him standing in the doorway, his face a mask of happiness and joy. He was acting and he wasn't that bad at it when he wasn't high on his drugs.

I turned back around and snuck a 'help me' look at the man whose name I did not know. His eyes said he understood. Uncle Shawn stumbled into my peripheral vision and looked at the man who feared for my life. Not like my life is worth anything.

"Who are you," Uncle Shawn asked coldly, his eyes blankly gazing at the man's half-gone arm. Uncle Shawn turned to me and I saw it in his eyes. He was high. "Are you—," he tripped on a chair leg and fell into the pool. "AAA!"

SPLASH! The water splashed onto my face and into my eyes but I felt something…I didn't let the water affect me. I didn't blink. I started breathing fast and felt immediate pain and anger.

Uncle Shawn is going to hurt you, said a voice in my head. Finish him now so he can't anymore. 

My eyes locked onto his splashing, panicked body and I dove into the water. I opened my eyes underwater and the chlorine filled them…I didn't stop. I swam to Uncle Shawn, who had just surfaced, grabbed his pant leg and yanked him down. 

As I had hoped, the cold water only dazed him more. He probably didn't even know he was awake anymore. I held onto his leg with a death grip. Die! DIE!

_I still don't know what came over me. I just felt that I had too. I still don't know why, still don't understand why or what I did that for…_

His was starting to relax, giving up his air when something yanked him up out of the water, I held onto his leg but I was pulled out with him. Something pried my hands away and I was pushed away from Uncle Shawn's wet, soaking body. 

It was the man who had pulled Uncle Shawn out. He saved a worthless life. For what, a voice inside seemed to ask. 

I slowly swam back to the middle of the pool, away from the traitor. And then he said what changed my life. "If you want to kill someone, you'll have to learn how to do it first." 

Huh?


	3. Traitor

AsazI ****

DISCLAIMERS: The lyrics of the song 'It'll be Okay' belong to Limp Bizkit. I changed a couple lines but I have no intention of taking them for my own profit or whatever other ways there are to break the law with them. Action Man is owned by Mainframe (and I **should** own Mainframe…darn!)

AsazI

__

Chapter 3

Huh?

The man frowned, obviously wanting me to say something; his impatience showing in the wrinkles on his forehead. "I said, if you want to kill someone, you'll have to learn how to do it first."

I stared thoughtfully at the strange man, who was missing half of his left arm. Then it occurred to me…he didn't lose his arm in a tractor accident…he lost it somewhere else. "I do know how. I almost had him…" Then tears came to eyes and I looked away.

The man was silent and then he said, "I will take you in."

Once again, I was speechless. How did this man know what I was planning? He…

"…Would you like me to do that?"

I glanced at Uncle Shawn, the good-for-shit man that didn't care about me. Only took me in because he had too. Only took me in because if he didn't, the **law** would come to him and he didn't need or want that. No way.

My gaze drifted back to the man. He was wearing overalls with a white T-shirt on the inside. I studied for quite awhile, treading in the pool with my sore arms. I didn't care. Why would I? My parents were **dead**. Never to come back and my Uncle Shawn was a nobody that didn't care for me…who else did?

As if reading my thoughts, he said, "I care, and I will teach you anything you want to know. As long as it's not out of my reach."

I smiled again and lazily swam to an edge of the pool and pulled myself out. He smiled back and, somehow, I knew it would be okay…he would take care of me. Somebody did care for me! I can't believe it! Somebody **does** care for me! He actually—

"But it will be awhile before I can take you in."

My joyous thoughts and happiness were immediately sucked into a black hole in the back of my pessimistic head. It will be awhile before—what bullshit!

I frowned and said, "You're nothing but lying, thieving scum like my Uncle Shawn. You are **nothing** but a liar, a deceiver of children that are beginning lives in which no one will ever **love** them!" The words obviously stung the man but it obviously wasn't guilt on his face, like I planned. 

Instead he said casually, a controlling tone in his voice that told me he was hardly containing his anger. "I can easily find you and just do this: try to make it through the next few weeks. I have—," he paused, trying to find the right thoughts, "—obligations that I absolutely **must** do. I'm sorry but I promise you I will return and take you from that…man."

"He isn't a man," I spat. "He's a good-for-nothing man that doesn't deserve a thing."

The fake liar in front of me nodded his head in agreement, then walked over to the unconscious Uncle Shawn and pulled his wallet out of his pockets. He then took out Uncle Shawn's driver's license and put it in his pocket. 

The man then started to leave the poolroom and I shouted, "What's your name?"

He looked at the ground and said, "Xynan," then he left. 

Once again I was alone in the world with no one but a pathetic drug dealer to take care of me. Would I survive for more than a few weeks? Not without running away. Definitely not.

-_-

I stayed in the poolroom and calmly, quietly swam around the pool, waiting for Uncle Shawn to revive. It would obviously be awhile but eventually I lost patience and woke him up. 

I shook his shoulders, without caring if it hurt him and said, "Uncle Shawn! You almost drowned!" 

That woke him up. "I did what?!"

"You almost drowned but the man I was talking too, Xynan, saved you. He pulled you out!" Shawn, whom I will never call 'Uncle' again, was visible shocked. His eyes were still a little dilated but I figured he would be okay in a few minutes. Not like I cared. "Are we going to Florida, are we going home?" It hurt to say it, hurt bad. But I had to fake it. Had to.

"Yeah, let's go **home**." He sarcastically said 'home' and I wondered what he meant by that. Did he know I was acting? Did he believe my story? It was the truth wasn't it? I just…omitted part of it.

-_-

We got into the car and left the hotel. I didn't say anything about the fact that he left my clothes there. I wanted to make as much trouble for the jerk as I could. The hours went by, the trees going by the car window were countless. 

I sat there and stared out the car windows, watching truckers and families go by…families…the word and meaning are different now. Families are dreams of the unknown, dreams.

And the longer I watched them go bye, the more I knew that my life wouldn't be like I wanted it to be. I would be a famous singer, selling music tapes. I wouldn't be on the radio or in movies. Instead, I would be a spy. 

I would spy for the good guys. The FBI and the CIA and basically, America. I would help **destroy** people like Unc…Shawn. Utterly take them down and prove that they were on drugs, or they were raping girls or that they were murderers…I would be a good **and** bad guy.

You can't be a good guy if you kill people. Even if you are in a raid and they shoot you, you aren't a good guy and never will be again. No way. But, of course, you can still help the good guys. Help bring down more and help take marijuana and crack off the streets.

_I was more educated than any girl in the world was. I was not only street smart, but also **mind** smart. I could tell what people were planning as they walked, could tell that they were going to be hurt. It was my God-given ability…sad how I've never once used it for good._

The longer we drove, the more songs that I used to sing came into my head. And then we stopped for the night in a hotel close to Tallahassee. I think that was the name of the city. That night, we got a single-bed room and I was to sleep on the floor.

I fell asleep quickly with the one pillow that Shawn gave me under me as my bed. The carpet was rough, hardly even carpet. 

I fell asleep and entered the world of dreams. I dreamt that my family was still together. We were at a church hot dog cookout. Our church often threw big cookouts like this, just for fun.

I was sitting beside my mother, eating a hot dog when she suddenly looked at me and said, "You filthy little **bitch.** You're a six-year—''

**WHAP! **I was awakened by pain on the left side of my face. I rolled over and big hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard. My head started hurting like a migraine. "Stop it," I cried out. Then I opened my eyes to see Shawn, his arms on my shoulders. 

I could see it in his eyes. See it…knew what was coming. I had to act now. Had to or I would suffer for the rest of my life. I reached out and slapped him across his left cheek. He didn't even blink a stoned blink. 

He laughed in my face, his breath reeking with the distinct odor of marijuana. "What're you gonna do about it?" He paused and tilted his head, then answered his own question. "You're gonna PAY!"

I knew what was coming. He pushed me back and I fell back against a wall. I was crying hard and praying hard for a miracle. For Shawn to drop dead and die so I wouldn't have to live through it. It didn't happen.

I opened my eyes to see him unbuttoning his belt buckle and pants. I looked behind me at a wall and thought, I won't feel a thing. Then I slammed my own head against the wall and—

PAIN! The agony of immediate and hellish pain engulfed me. Water ran down the back of my neck and as my vision faded, I saw him looking at me with a cruel, evil smile…then I lost consciousness. 

-_-

That morning I woke up to find blood on the carpet next to my head. I felt the back of my head and there was a small gash. No longer bleeding but still a gash.

I looked up and saw the bed empty, the blankets untended. I slowly got up and stood straight on my feet. I was half-naked, my shorts on the other side of the room. The door to the hotel room was open, the cold morning wind blowing into the room. I crossed over to the other side of the room and put on my shorts, then walked outside to find Shawn's car.

He was working on the engine, pulling a plastic bag out of it and putting it in the glove box of the car. I now knew where he was hiding his drugs. I inwardly smiled and thought, Slowly, very slowly, I am going to bring you down. Just give me time. 

Shawn saw me and said, "Get in the car. We're going to get home today so let's get going now."

I said nothing, just crossed my arms on my chest and got in the car. This time, though, I got in the back seat, to make sure that he couldn't hit me while in the car, if he wanted to.

The longer I live with him, the more careless he's going to get and eventually he won't he even try to hide his business from me. When that happens, I will take him down with one, clean sweep. Only **I** will have **my **revenge and he will regret every touching. 

It sounded evil but I felt good. I felt evil but good. As we rode down to Miami, I created a song that would be my life's song. It wasn't really a song, just a few lines but they meant everything to me. To me and Xynan, who had gave me hope but betrayed me. I will never forget you. **Traitor.**

__

So I'm on my way; I leave today.

If I get away, it'll **be okaaayyy…**

You are so disgusting

I bet you wonder just how sympathetic I'll be

So tell me whyyyy you say goodbye

And tell me whyyy, you're f*****' my whole life!

The first two lines represent me when I runaway. The middle represents how what I think about Shawn and the last are about the traitor Xynan. 

****

Author's Note

Yes, it got pretty crude there at the end. But knowing Asazi, it happened that way. This should be the worst chapter in my story (…err, her story) so please bear with me. CV 


	4. Home

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 4

I made it to Miami without any more bad things happening to me. Shawn was quiet most of the rest of the way 'home'. 

I knew that there would be more acts of evil that Shawn would cast upon me. I had to keep it together though. It's only been three days since I left the hospital and it would be months before I could take him. Patience and endurance were all I needed. 

I wondered about many things though. What life would be like other than Shawn's evils upon me. Would I get to go to school? Would I even be allowed out of the house? Small things like that captivated my head until we reached Miami. Then I smiled. The warm beaches everywhere, people walking around with nothing but swimsuits…it was the life I dreamed of…use to dream of.

I knew that we would probably go to the beach a lot, but only so Shawn could deliver his damned drugs. We drove through the metropolitan area of Miami and then farther south, past the boundaries of Miami and then into groups of apartment complexes and large homes.

We drove through areas like that for a few minutes then reached a city called Cutler Ridge. It's populations sign said about fifty thousand and I somehow knew that Shawn lived somewhere here. We turned off the highway that we took from Miami and into a shaggy neighborhood. Many African Americans were walking up and down the streets, all dressed very lightly…if they were dressed at all.

Shawn made a left at a 4-way intersection and drove down a two-lane road for about five minutes. Then made a right and almost immediately turned right again and we pulled into a driveway, hidden from the two-lane road because of a fifteen-foot wooden fence. 

Shawn sat back and sighed a deep sigh. "Good old home," he said quietly and pointed up to an apartment building, specifically pointing to a third story door. The apartment building was four stories tall, many people sitting outside on the rails and porches of the stairs. 

And most of them were looking straight at me. I wondered why. Is it because I'm white? So is Shawn. Only difference is the fact that I'm better than he is.

Shawn looked at me and said, "Follow me. I think you left your suitcases at one of the hotels so just follow me. We'll wash your clothes once a week." He got out of the car and I followed, no words coming from my mouth to acknowledge the fact that I heard him. Just doing what he said.

He walked up the first flight of stairs without saying a word to the people staring at us. On the second flight of stairs, Shawn increased his speed a little but a black man suddenly stepped in front of him, cutting him off. 

Looking down at Shawn with cold, merciless eyes he said, "Where's my **stuff**?" 'Stuff' must have been another word for drugs, but since there were so many kids around, the man didn't want the kids to know what really was going on.

Shawn looked away and said, "Your stuff is a bank deposit box right now. If you want it, I'll get it but I can't tonight." Tonight? I glanced up into the sky; surprised to see it turned a fiery red. The sun was setting and it was creating a beautiful sight…sad how Shawn's voice alone could spoil it.

"I want it by lunch tomorrow. Delivered to my door at eleven A.M." He paused, his eyes glancing at me. "Or I get to have fun with your new pet." 

Shawn's face snapped back at the black man, his voice raising, he yelled, "She's my dead sister's daughter. You won't touch her." Why not? You do.

The black man laughed in Shawn's face. "That's the deal good ol' **Uncle** Shawn." He had emphasized 'Uncle' with sarcasm and a few older teenage boys around laughed. The black stepped out of Shawn's way and let us pass onto the third flight.

We made it to Shawn's apartment, room 302. He unlocked the six different locks he had on there and entered his apartment. I followed him in and looked around; there was a TV on the floor in one corner of the room, a couch opposite of the TV, two windows, a bookshelf, a doorway leading to a small kitchen and a closed door that probably led to the bathroom. There was also a ceiling fan with lights sturdily attached to the ceiling.

I walked into the kitchen as Shawn plopped himself onto the couch and thoughtfully gazed at the ceiling. The kitchen had a door inside of it. I curiously opened it to see a small bedroom with a stereo on a nightstand next to a skinny cot. 

Looks like your profession has taken a little out of the house, I thought happily. I started to turn around when the back of a hand completely engulfed my vision and pain exploded into my head as I fell back from the blow. 

I stumbled backwards, tripping over the dusty cot and falling onto a carpeted floor. "OOF!" I opened my eyes to see Shawn grinning evilly at me…I knew what was coming. 

I made no effort to resist him. I banged my head on the wall but this time the wall wasn't hard. It only opened up the gash on the back of my head and made me bleed. I began to whimper in fear and pain as Shawn walked toward me and…

As he hurt me, I made no resistance. There was nothing I could do. And in probably half-an-hour, he stopped, picked me up and carried me into the living room. Then he threw me onto the sofa and went into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. 

As my eyes ran out of tears I began to remember my song that I made up in the car on my way to Cutler Ridge. 

I hummed it to myself over and over again and murmured the words; quietly so Shawn wouldn't come back…my life was hell. And it would only get worse, judging by the black man's threat to me…

-_-

I awoke to Shawn slamming the front door and walking outside. There were a few birds chirping outside but no sunlight coming in through the windows. I got to my feet and realized that I had slept on the couch all night long. 

After looking myself over, I realized that he had cut my short's legs by about six inches. Now it was like wearing underwear and my shirt's sleeves were gone and torn down the middle a little so you could see my chest if I bent down. I'm only six. I won't have anything for at least six more years…what a pervert!

I found a watch under the middle seat of the couch and it read: 8:09. So Shawn went to get the drugs that were in the bank deposit. It wasn't hard to realize that it wasn't cash in the bank deposit box that the black man brought up in his confrontation with Shawn. If it was cash, why wasn't it getting interest in an account? A bank deposit box is safe and efficient. 

I had to admit it was pretty clever. But not clever enough; after all, me, a six-year-old, figured it out kinda fast. 

I put the watch on around my wrist and walked around the apartment. I looked out the windows and saw partly cloud skies, the sun being blocked out by one. I smiled and—

****

SLAM! I jumped and turned to look at the front door. Shawn was back, staring at my wrist. "Where'd you get that watch?" 

"Under the couch," I replied with a level voice though my **mind** was shaking with fear. 

He frowned at me and walked over to me, that look in his eyes told me that even though he had messed with my body last night, he was about to do it again…, "So **rape me already**," I screamed. 

A look of complete shock covered his face, then amazement…then a smile. "What?"

"So rape me," I said again, this time not so loud. 

Shawn laughed a cold-hearted laugh. "Since you asked," and he stepped toward me. Instead of sitting down and starting to whimper, I grabbed at his shirt and ripped it off, smiling. Not smiling because of that, smiling because he was walking right into it.

"Oh! So you **do** like it? Then let's go—," he was cut off by my fist into his privates. He started to buckle over when I delivered a kick into the same area. He coughed, his eyes blinked once and he fell to the floor, shocked and in pain. I ran for the door and swung it open, stepping out of the apartment. I turned right and started to run when—

**SMACK!** I flew sideways into a brick wall. A black hand had whapped me upside my head. I heard the same voice as the black man from yesterday say, "Whoops!" Somebody laughed and said, "Can't you tell the difference between a bitch and sella'?"

The black man replied, "Nope. Shawn's both." They, four I think, all laughed. I opened my dizzy eyes and saw four men all huddled around me. One was touching my chest and the other reaching for my shorts. 

They were all black, but their leader, the man who threatened me said, "No! We wait and go talk to Shawn first. If he doesn't have the cigs, this girl will experience…undelightful pleasantries and good ol' Shawn with commit suicide…with help." They laughed again, stepped past me and walked into Shawn's apartment. 

I slowly got to my feet, my nose bleeding and my lower lip busted. I turned and ran to another end of the building. I heard them laugh a few times and then I heard Shawn scream for a few seconds…then it faded away…

I tried to keep calm and focused but to have someone killed nearby…my breathing got fast as the four men exited the apartment, laughing and making (what they thought were funny) gestures. They didn't even see me as they walked down the flights of stairs that started ten feet from where I was. When they got into a car and got away, I slowly walked back to the apartment and looked inside.

I screamed. Shawn was hanging by a rope that was attached to the ceiling fan. His hands were still gripping the rope even though he was obviously dead. His eyes wide open and his mouth wide open, as if still trying to breathe. I screamed again, then regained my control and looked around.

The room was still in orderly fashion, still the same except for a not that was on the floor underneath Shawn's hanging feet. 

Trembling, I walked over to it and read it—I didn't touch it, just read it. It read:

__

My life is a fraud. Nobody loves me and nobody cares. So I didn't eat worms, I did it faster than that.

That was all it said but it said a lot. It was obviously fake, written by one of the black men that killed him but I wasn't feeling any thing. No emotion except for happiness. And what's wrong with happiness?

Isn't your goal in life to be happy? As far as I was concerned, it was, only I added another rule to happiness. **Whatever it takes to be happy, be happy.**

I mentally smiled and left the room.

I left the apartment complex and stood on the sidewalk next to the two-lane road and looked both ways. One way went deeper into the city; the other led to the ocean. I started walking toward the ocean. I was no longer with Shawn The Perv, no longer with a drug dealer. I was free…

****

Author's Note

So is it getting a little better? The darkest parts are over so if you've read this far, thanx because now it begins…


	5. Free

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 5

****

I was free.

I walked down the sidewalk toward the distant ocean, happy that I was away from Shawn. It had ended better than I thought it would. Much better; I didn't have to do any dirty work or even turn him in. In the end, it was his own job that got him killed.

I was indeed free. But I was too free. I didn't have a home, a place for cool air and food. Actually, I haven't had a home since…since my parents died…

My parents. I would never forget them. They were caring, loving, and ever faithful to my dreams of becoming a famous singer and actress…and they died. 

But died for what? They **died**. Maybe for nothing. No. When you die, it's for something or someone. When Shawn died, it was for **me.** God killed him for me and to help kill his deals with his clients. God also killed him because he was evil. A bad guy.

No one's life is perfect but no one's life should suffer like mine. 

I raised my left hand and gently touched the gash on the back of my head. It felt like dried blood, but the gash was still there and hadn't healed yet. My lip was swelling and my nose had a dried river of blood that came from it and ended at my chin. 

But I didn't care. I was FREE. FREE! The very thought made me start to skip down the street with joy. I passed other people on the street, joyously skipping down the sidewalk. Most were African-American, their black skin sweating in the early morning sun.

The day was just beginning and I knew that, as the sun dawned a new dawn, I had dawned an improved life.

-_-

Another hour and I had reached the sandy shores. My heart leapt with joy as I splashed into the ocean, not caring if anyone looked at me weird or whispered into other people's ears about me. I splashed and yelled about.

I swam for hours, my short shorts and shirt more than enough to qualify as swimming clothes. 

At high noon, I walked back to the shore and laid down in the sand, catching my breath as the afternoon heat began to dry me. I was so happy. I enjoyed today. Almost everything about it. Shawn's death, the beach…even the watch I still had strapped around my wrist. 

It was like I was heaven.

Until I realized that I was hungry. Quiet hungry actually, considering I hadn't eaten anything since we made it to Shawn's house. No dinner…for me anyway. 

I sat up and looked around at the people tanning and small parties that older people, probably college students were throwing. There were volleyball courts that were all around the beach, all but two taken. And down the beach, quite far down, I saw a large area of picnic tables where families were picnicking for the day.

I was immediately jealous of the happy faces around me. All of them cheerful, not worrying about anything. All of them here to have fun, to get some stress out of their lives and to get away from the world, **to be carefree**. 

I wasn't carefree. I needed food and a home. A home. Suddenly images of Mommy and Daddy came into my mind and the happy times we had together. When Daddy took me skiing in the Rockies, when Mommy took me to movies, when my friends came over after school…tears came once again.

Tears came like a river, they spilled onto the sand and after awhile, my sobbing eyes became dry, and the sand had no more rain. I opened my eyes and looked at the sand I was sitting in, pale yellow being it's natural color. 

Suddenly it wasn't yellow and it turned black. A shadow of a man standing behind me. I turned my head and squinted as the sun hanging above the man's left shoulder blinded me. "Hello," he said calmly, quietly. 

I frowned and snapped, "What do you want?"

The man plopped down into the sand and I got a good look at him. He was probably about twenty-three, strong with a masculine figure. His face was soft and compassionate though. He had black hair and was probably a little over six feet tall. 

And then he smiled. It was like my vision shattered into a million pieces by one small smile. It was soft like the rest of his face but it was trustworthy and quietly calm. He had blue eyes and was wearing a blue shirt and khaki colored pants. 

He said, "Nothing…I, uh…noticed you were crying…are you okay?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. So somebody really did care. Somebody **did** notice the poor, lonely child crying on the beach alone and her clothes hardly even clothes…somebody actually cared about me and they didn't even know me…

It touched me. Strongly captivated my face and movement. I was crying again. Didn't know it then but I was crying with dry eyes. 

The man asked again, "Are you okay?"

This time, I smiled. "Yes, I'm okay…hungry but okay." Did I just say I was hungry? AAA!!! He must think I'm a beggar girl.

"Hungry," he said, sounding surprised. "Well it's **your** lucky day because I've got some friends over and we are barbecuing over there—," he pointed to one of the college groups and continued, "—and I think we might have a few left over hamburgers. Wanna be my guest?"

My heart melted right then and there. This man was so nice, so…perfect. And then it hit me, like it did in the movies…am I in…love? It was an insane thought, I admitted that but…could it truly happen to a six-year-old? In the back of my head I heard advice, a whisper saying something like, "Careful, girl…you can't **trust** anybody…study his eyes…"

I followed the advice…his blue eyes almost glowed. As I studied them carefully, I watched his expression change and his thoughts try to evaluate me as I was doing so to him. His eyes were dark blue, like the ocean and I thought that, I could see the rolling waves in his eyes. He was trustworthy, I decided. And if I made a mistake then…nah, this won't be a mistake. This man is…**nice.**

"Okay," I said, startling him. No, not startling him; I interrupted him from **deep** thought. "I'll got with you under one condition." He gestured, silently saying, 'and that is?'…I answered, "I can eat as much as I like."

He smiled and my world split into two again. "Deal," and he offered his large, strong hand. My hand shakily met his and we handshaked for a few seconds, his grip strong but not at all painful. More like…gentle. Yeah, gentle…

He suddenly got to his feet and said, "C'mon; looks like the hamburgers just got done!" I hopped to my feet and followed him to his friends. 

He got everyone to be quiet and he introduced me to his group. "Guy and gals, this is a young girl that I met a few minutes ago." I made a 'ahem' sound and he quickly said, "Oops! I mean, this is a young **lady** that I met a few minutes ago and she's going to eat with us today." 

People looked at me strangely, probably noticing my short shorts and my shirt that almost exposed my chest. "You will treat her with respect so…let's have FUN!" People clapped and cheered and started grabbing hamburgers and customizing them with whatever accessories they might like. 

I got in line; the smell of cooked meat more than enough to arouse my empty stomach. My tummy growled at me with discomfort but I just thought No worries. This is today's meal. 

When I could, I grabbed a cheeseburger, put ketchup on it and walked away, finding a bench close to the volleyball courts to watch and eat. **My** man was starting up a volleyball game. Since I had never played or seen volleyball; I only knew what the courts looked like, I watched with interest.

Each team could only have nine people; the one in the farthest right corner served the ball to the opposite side. As the game progressed, I watched how they hit the ball and how they 'spiked' it and served it. After eating three cheeseburgers, I went back to the bench and watched them play.

My man's team had five girls and four guys, the opposite team five guys and four girls. Interesting how that turned out. The people that weren't playing were getting into coolers…and pulling out beer. 

Don't go around the ones that are drinking that stuff. It's bad for you I thought. 

After the volleyball game was over, my man's team lost by one point (rats), he came over to me and sat next to me. "So are you still hungry?"

I shook my head no and said, "I had three cheeseburgers. How could I be hungry?" 

I saw it in his eyes that he was surprised at the fact that I had eaten that much, but I think he was more surprised when he finally noticed that I talked clearly. Not like that really mattered or anything.

"So, uh…where are your parents," he asked, trying to sound cheerful. 

My face went from happy to stone cold, unreadable. "**Dead.**" I said it so simply and bitterly that his widened with surprise, then his face switched gears, going from surprise to neutral. "Sorry," he said quietly, not only apologizing for their death, but also apologizing for bringing it up. At all honesty, I didn't care. I'd tell him anything he wanted to know about me. 

I…loved him. 

Impossible because most six-year-olds don't understand love until their parents **die** and your one and only other relative molests you. Then you see the difference between love, hate, and the world today. Shawn didn't hate me; he was just being himself. I hated him for that and he knew that but he didn't care. That was his personality.

And so it came to pass that he got what was coming…**death**.

"Death?"

I jumped, immediately knowing that I had said that out loud. 

"What about death," he asked me. 

I was silent. Silent for so long but he was patient for so long too. He just waited for an answer. He must've waited a good half-hour before I finally answered him, telling him about my parent's death. Unfortunately, for some reason, I didn't tell him about Shawn, or the people that killed him.

Just my parents death. 

The fact that it had been almost a month since they died startled him and his eyes began wet with tears. "Why are you crying," I asked. But before he could answer I asked another question. One that changed me again.

"What's your name?"

He looked at me and wiped his tears away. "Xynan."

****

Author's Note

So is it finally starting to cheer up a little? I knew the first few chapters would be sad but if you made it through to here, I really appreciate it. Thanx and please review!


	6. The Beach

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 6

****

Xynan?!

My breathing became fast and my face displayed immediate anger. "You're not Xynan! Xynan was old and—," I paused, confusion surrounding me, "—how do you know Xynan?"

He smiled and said, "He told me that you were like this. Exuberant. Not happily exuberant but exuberant. 

You are right; the man you met was **not** Xynan but he knows me and he looks for young people that don't have homes. He just happened to be at the same hotel as you." Then scooted over right next to me and whispered into my ear, "If you want to kill, you better know how to do it."

Ice-cold fear ran through me. It really was him. And the man at the pool was just Xynan's friend. I'm in love with the person who will take me in…it's perfect! I threw my arms around him and hugged him. I was so happy; I had a home, a **good** person to live with…it was perfect.

So that's what all the suffering was for! To see how long I could endure it. And I made it. Now my life is going to be perfect!Absolutely perfect…

He could tell I was happy and I ran my fingers up and down his chest, tickling him. He laughed and tickled me back…I was laughing. Actually laughing…

"Bet I could beat you to the ocean," I suddenly shouted with joy and started sprinting toward the shoreline. He had fallen off the bench and it took him a few seconds to get back up, but he was next to me in another few seconds. I giggled and splashed into the ocean, the salt water flying around me and him creating a picture right out of the movies. 

Usually at the end of the movies too. So now the movie is over and I'm gonna have a **happy** ending. I laughed again but fell against a huge wave, the water engulfing me. 

I surfaced and he laughed at my dripping, brown hair. "HEY," I shouted and started splashing his black hair back. "Get wet," I yelled. I sounded so silly but I was having fun. Enjoying the day. 

Not to mention I wasn't hungry.

He splashed back but salt water got in my eye and I stopped, blinking rapidly. He stopped and sloshed through the water toward me. He had stopped laughing.

I had actually gotten the water out and was planning a surprise tackle on him. When he was close enough, I whirled around and jumped onto him. He lost his footing in the water and fell back and landed on his back in the water, his face barely above the surface and me on his chest trying to pin his strong arms.

I wasn't near strong enough. He laughed and said, "So you want to **play**, eh?"

I snarled a funny snarl at him and he laughed hard…then his arms moved so fast I couldn't see them. In half a second I was flung away and landed in the ocean water, a lot farther from the shore than I was. I wasn't hurt or anything; it was a gentle but powerful push. I surfaced and treaded, looking around.

He was getting up about fifteen yards away. He flung me fifteen yards, and it wasn't even painful. He's really strong…

He saw me starting to swim back and shouted, "I'll take you in but there's a catch, okay?"

When I reached him, I raised one eyebrow and said, "What?"

He bent down and sat in the water. "I teach you how to kill. How to get rid of people like that Uncle Shawn of yours, and drug dealers…basically, I train you to take out the bad guys. It'll be very hard work but I promise that even though sometimes I won't seem like your friend, we'll **always** reward you when you do exceptionally well."

It sounded like a boot camp but if it had Xynan involved, I was there. "Deal," and offered my hand for a handshake. He took it and gently squeezed my hand.

"Today will be your first day okay," he asked. 

I replied, "Okay…what're we doing?"

"Having fun," he shouted and tackled me back. My head went under the water and I tried to breathe but got salty water instead. I started to choke. Why was he doing…? My throat began to burn badly and suddenly the pressure was gone. I surfaced fast and spat out the water in me. I breathed in blessed air and was relieved. 

"That was your first lesson," he said in my ear. "**You must always be alert and ready for anything.**"

I nodded, still choking a little. Then he said, "I won't do that anymore today, okay? I just felt that I had to do that right now or you'd never learn it…"

I shook my shoulders, gesturing 'who cares'. "I'm okay," I said. "So…let's have FUN," and I splashed him. He laughed and splashed me back…

-_-

We played for hours and hours that day, until the sun began to set, turning the skies bright red and orange. We had a lot of fun, playing volleyball, marco-polo in the water and all sorts of other fun stuff.

When he said that it was time to go, I said, "Where?"

He smiled and shook his head. "To your new **home.**"

I smiled back and tried to tickle him in the ribs as we walked toward the beach's parking lot. But it didn't work. He didn't even show that he felt it. His face was blank, completely unreadable. I followed his gaze to a very nice car.

And then I saw why he was staring. The windshield was cracked and the side windows completely knocked out. A large rock was sitting on top of the hood of the car, in the crater of a dent. Someone had beat the shit out of his car.

He jogged toward it and looked inside. He reached in, unlocked the driver's side and opened the door. There was broken glass all over the seats and floor. I started to look to my right when I…there was a piece of paper in the air conditioning vent. 

I frowned and tried to get it out with my little fingers.

"What're you doing," Xynan asked. 

"There's a piece of paper in there…I can't…reach it though," I replied, pulling my hand away and sighing. He reached over with his strong arms and broke off the front of the vent with his fingers. He pulled the paper out and unfolded it.

As he beheld it in front of his eyes, his hands started shaking and the longer he held it, the worse the shaking got. "Are you okay," I asked, my voice startling him and causing him to jump. 

"Oh, uh…yeah, I'm fine…just a little shocked that's all." 

I frowned and closed my eyes. It was the first time…probably not the only time that he would do it either. He had lied to me. He wasn't shocked; I could read it in his eyes.

He was **scared**. Of what I didn't know but there was absolute fear in his eyes. 

He suddenly got out of his car and began carefully scraping the broken glass out of his seat. I did the same but on my second sweep a shard cut me and dug into my skin. I winced but tried not to show it. It started pouring out blood and Xynan noticed. 

"Uh oh," he said casually. He sat down in his shardless chair, reach over, opened the glove compartment and—

I jumped and bumped my head on the ceiling of the car. There was a gun in his glove compartment. A nine-millimeter, just like one I had seen in one of the movies I had watched while in the hospital…it could **kill.**

Why would I have to learn how I kill when there was an instrument that I could use to kill? Why couldn't I just become good with the instrument? Or, should I say the gun?

He moved the gun over, revealing a mini-first-aid-kit. He told me to give him my hand and I held it out, the blood dripping onto the floor but he didn't seem to care. He bandaged it up. It hurt but I didn't show it. I had gone through greater pain than—

"OW!" Pain filled the back of my head as blood ran down my back. The bump on the sealing had reopened the gash on the back of my head. It bled too and he noticed. 

"Wow…you take a lot of hits don't you?"

I smiled and said, "Funny how they're both self-inflicted." 

He made no comment to that but continued fixing my hand. When he done, he said, "Turn around so I can see the back of you head; that gash." I did as he told me too but something didn't feel right…something felt strange. 

I didn't **feel** anything but I just **knew** that someone was staring at me…or at my short shorts. 

Xynan was saying something, "…hmm, looks like you're gonna need stitches for that gash in your head. I'll bandage it now and when we get home, I'll stitch it…okay?"

"Sure," I replied trying to sound confident. Actually, I had never heard of a guy stitching you up but…I bet that Xynan could do it without a problem. He was, after all, perfect. 

His hands left the back of my head and the car starting up was my cue to sit back in the chair and get my seat belt on. My life is going to get better and better until it's perfect. So perfect…

__

It really was sad that I thought this so long ago. I was, after all, six and by birthday was coming up…I don't remember my actual birth date. I forgot it when my parent's died but I was determined that it was sometime in September…

As we drove down the road, I made notes of how he turned, what streets he was taking and what city we were going to. That way I could find my way back to the beach.

Silence filled the car as we left the beach, me, and probably Xynan too, thinking about the fun that we had here at the beach. "Well…," he said, trying to start conversation.

"I have a question, if you don't mind me asking it."

"Go ahead," I replied simply.

"How did you get away from Uncle Shawn?"

I hesitated and he knew it. How did I escape from Shawn? Should I tell the truth or say I beat him up and ran? After a few seconds of debate, I decided on the truth. "He was killed by his **friend** drug dealers. They were going to—," my voice stopped…I couldn't talk for a few seconds…it was strange. "—going to rape me when they were done but they forgot as they left. They made it look like suicide."

He nodded as if in complete understanding. "Umm…it just occurred to me that I don't know your name. And neither did the guy that met you at the pool. So…what's your name?"

I started to say it but it hit me. What's my name? I had never told Shawn my name and…I forgot. I have amnesia…but from what? I realized it a half-second later. When I knocked myself out back in the hotel room a few nights ago.   
"I don't have a name," I replied and he nodded again, as if in understandment…

****

Author's Note

Alright! It's getting better…well, I think it is. But there are many more shockers to come so keep reading—_and reviewing_.


	7. Asazi

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 7

We drove for a good hour; back up into Miami's metropolitan area and then back we turned east and took a large road down to beach house. By now, I had completely lost track of the roads to take to get to the beach but it didn't matter.

Xynan's beach house was built next to a river and the river led down into the ocean, whose beaches were about a mile away. "So what do you think," he asked me as he parked the car and shut off the engine. 

I gave the house a good look. It was made of wood, strong, of course, several windows to see inside and porches extending from both of the two stories. One thing that was awkward was that the second floor didn't have any windows. Just a little note I made to myself.

"I like it," I said nicely. 

He smiled, still looking at the house. "Well, let's go on in, shall we?"

I smiled. He treated me like a queen, a queen from a foreign country. "Yes lets," I replied and got out of the car. He walked up a bricked path toward the front door; I followed. 

We stepped inside and I looked around in awe. The place was well-kept, not any messes or anything like that. There were pictures of different people on the walls and—

"Xynan, is that you?" A girl voice called from the metal, spiral staircase in a corner of the huge living room. And then a pair of feet appeared on the stairs and slowly walked down. 

She was average height, probably about nineteen years old. Blonde hair, couldn't tell what eye color because I was too far back and she was wearing a bathrobe that wasn't tied. She looked seductively at Xynan and said, "So…are you tired or—," she paused when she finally noticed me and then said, "—sorry. Well hello there!" 

She said it as if I was a three-year-old. It pissed me off.

"What's your name," she asked me, when she reached Xynan and me. Then she bent down, her face getting very close to mine and she said, "Aren't you a pretty girl!" Her bathrobe swung free and I could see her. She wasn't exactly trying to cover herself. 

"She's with me for a little while, okay Asazi?" 

'Asazi' smiled and stood up straight. "Where is she going to sleep?"

Xynan pointed to a leather sofa and said, "On that sofa…is that alright with you," he asked me. I nodded and he smiled. Asazi was staring at my face.

"She's really nice. Maybe you two can talk sometime and hang out at the beach together," Xynan said, obviously trying to get me to talk to Asazi. Asazi winced at the thought of spending time with me but covered it up quickly by saying, "Ouch! I gotta toothache. I'm gonna go brush my teeth."

She turned around, jogged to the stairway and looked back at me. Or more specifically, my eyes. She saw something in them, I could tell. I didn't know what though. 'Thine eyes are more than beauty can behold' I thought, laughing my own Shakespeare impression. I made that up but it did sound like Shakespeare.

My Mommy used to read Shakespeare to me before I went to bed at night… 

My face was the face of anger…but I covered it up with an unreadable expression. I looked up at Xynan's face and saw that he was smiling. 

He noticed me looking at him and he said, sounding embarrassed, "Sorry about that. She likes to…uh…go silly sometimes." I could tell he didn't mind it either…which **really** made me mad. 

I yawned before I could help it. 

"Are you tired," Xynan almost immediately asked. He was back to the caring, loving Xynan that he had been at the beach.

My eyes blinked with sudden weariness and Xynan laughed, picked me up and carried me over to the leather sofa…and by the time he gently put me down, I was asleep…

-_-

I awoke the next morning to Asazi laughing and Xynan's muffled, flirtatious talking. I sat up and looked around. There was a whole other part of the house that I had missed.

The living room was one huge room with a very tall ceiling but after you enter it, you see a kitchen and another small room that had a pool table in it and a TV hooked up to a Nintendo. 

I looked into the kitchen and saw Xynan kissing Asazi's neck and his hands roaming over her. He wasn't making out; just flirting with her. She was laughing and trying to cook some meat on the stove. Jealousy filled me but I laid back down on the sofa and pretended to sleep until her giggling stopped and I heard Xynan walk away, then go upstairs.

I sat up and made a fast movement so she'd notice me. 

Her head turned and she looked at me, plastering a fake smile on her pretty face. She really was beautiful; Xynan had a reason to like her…but it **will** be me, even though I'm a lot younger.

"Good morning," she said with empty enthusiasm.

Shut up bitch. "Hello…what's for breakfast?"

As she replied, her smile faded for some reason, "Sausage with toast. But you'll have to make your own toast, okay?" She paused, then added, "I'll help you find your way around the kitchen."

Almost immediately I snapped, "I can do it. I **don't**—," and never will, "—need your help."

It was as if she sensed my thoughts. Not only had her smile faded, but her face had been overcome with anger and obvious rage. She turned off the gas burner at the stove and walked over to me…she reminded me of Shawn. No, she was almost exactly like Shawn. 

Only difference was I didn't know if she was on drugs. **Yet.**

She got in my face and cruelly snapped, "Listen you little **bitch.** I know you like Xynan, okay? I can tell. But if you cause any problems, you're gonna have a lot more probs than being homeless." 

I frowned and spat, "I'm **not** homeless…and if you have a problem with me, I'm gonna have to teach you a little lesson."

Asazi kept a straight face for about two seconds…then laughed in my face. "You? Hurt **me**? I. Don't. Think. SO!" The second she said the last word, her hand dived down my shirt! 

What the hell is wrong with her, I thought. Surely she doesn't go both—my thoughts were proven when she ripped off my shirt. She wasn't gay. 

She wasn't trying to hurt my body, just my heart. 

I snorted and said, "Do you think I care about my shirt?" I dove at her over the couch, knocking her down and grabbing at her hair. I got a handful and was about to pull on it when a strong, large hand gripped my wrist and stopped me before it would hurt her.

Xynan's hand. 

Almost immediately, Asazi crawled out from under me and said, "That little **whore** tried to kill me! Get her out of here!" It suddenly occurred to me that she didn't care if I like Xynan. She just didn't want me to live in the same house as her. I saw it in her eyes. She was glaring at the sofa that I had slept on, not me. Figured I would get it dirty.

Xynan smiled and started laughing; laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes. "Oh…oh boy! You two fighting was one of the funniest things I've seen. Oh—," he noticed my shirtless chest and said, "—boy…that's okay. You can borrow one of Asazi's—''

"Like hell she will!"

"—Shirts." As if to make me feel better, he added, "—she won't mind."

That's the **second** time he's lied to me. Is he just trying to make me feel better or is he trying to make Asazi give up? The mind games' confused me and I mentally cried. Tears didn't come to my mind but if it was possible, my heart weeped… 

Why is it that no one but one person likes me? Am I hating magnet? Why?

Xynan went upstairs and Asazi had regained her composure and was returning to her cooking. She sighed and muttered to me, "Except for that shirt, you will get **nothing** from me. Understand?"

I nodded and said, "That's fine…I don't really want your stuff; after all, **Xynan** wouldn't want that, would he?" Her eyes turned to me and she realized that her earlier excuse was actually the truth. I really did love Xynan. 

Asazi's eyes glowed with rage. But she held it in…I was thankful. I knew that in a real fight I probably wouldn't win. I walked over and sat on a chair, a safe distance from Asazi so I could think. Why did she hate me? Did she think I was a bum? It was one of Xynan's people that found me first, not himself. And Xynan picked me up; I didn't even have to ask.

But the main question that puzzled me was this:

How in the world did Xynan like this…this…**whore.** Her bathrobe was always open so you could see her, her face and hair almost screamed it…it was too obvious. But I knew that Xynan had good taste, and since I didn't haven't really known Asazi for more than twelve hours, I shouldn't have been able to judge her…but she still looked like one.

And me? 

How could she call **me** one??? The utter thought completely confused me. I wasn't even old enough to—yes I was…but I didn't even have my monthlies yet. I'm wasn't a cheating, lying little girl that tried to get to know you and then steal your money. That wasn't me at all.

I **was**—not anymore, thanks to Xynan—homeless, basically didn't have clothes—they were worse than rag—and…

Xynan coming downstairs for a shirt for me interrupted my thoughts. I didn't care about covering my chest when he came down. Who cares? He tossed me the shirt and put it on. Tear this one, Asazi. Go ahead and tear it…just remember that it was your…no, it was probably Xynan's money that bought it. Go ahead and waste his money. 

Xynan looked at his watch and said, "Oh shit. I gotta get to work. No time for breakfast. Bye Asazi and—," he looked at me with a smile, "—bye. You can go to the beach after Asazi leaves, okay?" I nodded and he left.

Asazi stopped cooking and put what she finished in Tupperware, then the fridge. As she walked by me and went upstairs, her cold, piercing eyes watched me and bore into me like a hawk. But I didn't care.

I was still tired…I got comfortable in the chair and started drifting into the endless peacefulness of sleep…BAM! I was awaken by pain all over my body. My feet felt no floor but a half-second later there was and I crumpled onto the floor. "AAA," I screamed.

I opened my eyes to see Asazi on the opposite side of the room, glaring at me and fixing her shirt. She was smiling which could only me that she had thrown me from the opposite side of the room. "You wanna fight," I yelled. 

She smiled and tilted her head a little toward her left shoulder. "Yes." Her answer was simple and efficient. 

I charged.


	8. Plans

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 8

I charged at Asazi with rage and anger clouding my thoughts. She was standing behind a sofa; I dove over it and onto her like I did earlier…but this time she was prepared.

She sidestepped to the right, grabbed my arm in midair and flipped me over into the wall a few feet away. My back popped at the time of impact. I fell to the floor, trying to control my emotions.

You see, I learn fast. I learned from that one sidestep that she was controlling my actions by making me angry and mad…you can't fight if you're mad. Anger doesn't let you think clear; it kills your stamina and clear thinking. 

So I calmed myself and tried to find weak points in or on her. A few seconds later we began to circle around the sofa; she had gotten around it without me noticing. Then she suddenly leaped up and did a flying sidekick into my throat. I fell back, unable to breathe. She then **did a backflip over the sofa **and was again, about ten feet away from me. 

Her attack lasted two seconds, then she had retreated. Then it occurred to me that she might know karate. And if she did, I would **die** if I kept on fighting her. But it didn't matter…the hit to the throat was slowly taking me out…

I blinked and she smiled at her victory…

My vision fuzzed out and I fell onto the floor, defeated and knocked out…

-_-

I woke up to find my head in a small, dried circle of blood in the carpet. The gash on the back of my head had reopened…it was scabbed back over now. I slowly got to my feet and looked around the house to make sure that no one was home.

I didn't go upstairs though. That was Xynan's territory. His room. Not mine. I left the house and started walking toward the beach, Asazi's huge shirt going to down to my knees…I didn't even need my shorts. 

About fifteen minutes later I reached the beach and sat down. The sun was high and it must've been close to noon. I sighed slowly walked into the water, finding peace and comfort in the oceans cold, deep solitude. I was alone on the beach. Couldn't see anyone down either side of the beach. Also couldn't see any houses. 

But that fine with me. I was better off when or alone or alone with Xynan. Xynan…my heart flew at the sight of him, at the sound of his voice. Though I was six, I knew I was in love…how? I kept asking the question. How could I be in love at the age of six?

But there were other questions. Why did my own blood molest me? My own blood. Why were my parents killed before I could even begin to understand them? 

Questions that returned my thoughts to my mother and father. For what seemed to be the millionth time, tears poured from my eyes and into the salty ocean…the tears' salinity blending seamlessly with the oceans'. 

I stopped crying and tried to become a tough girl. You're alone in this world, I told myself. No one to help you. Take what you can get, **use it**, then leave it before it can betray you. Don't cry anymore tears for the past…only the future. 

Whispers entered my head…they said things like, "God killed your parents…you can **kill too.**" Whispers that brought out my anger and emotion. Whispers that tore at my heart and mind, a whisper that warned me about my future and whispers that told me that there was no one to help me…no one…

"LEAVE ME ALOOOOONNNEE," I screamed at the ocean. At the whispers in my head. 

__

I don't know, to this day, if those whispers were my imagination…or something more. Perhaps they were demons, telling me that there was no hope and that God had betrayed me…but perhaps they were whispers that were to change me, to **mold** me into what God wanted me to be…I didn't know…and **still** don't…

I was alone, alone except for the whispers that didn't come from my ears. 

They came from nowhere. Yet another mystery to my already inconceivable life. 

The mysteries? There were many; why did my parents die, why did I have to get Shawn who touched me, why did Asazi have to try and kill me…and all lead down the same path…**why?**

I crawled from the water and sat in the sand, muddying the area I was sitting in. 

**Now**, I thought. The whispers are right. No one is going to help no one and me ever will. From now on I will use things to **my** advantage, for **me.** No one else. Unless I meet another Xynan. 

And there always is another true love. I **can't **love the Xynan I know now…can't. There's no way. No possible way…because of Asazi. Asazi the bitch, the whore. She is a traitor to Xynan, a wretched freak of mortality whose fake love will hurt him forever…

I decided to take another vow. When I meet another Xynan…I will test him to see if he's truly the one. To make sure he doesn't cheat me like Asazi is treating him…

A thought occurred to me. If I'm gonna be a killer, a no-emotions person…I need a name. Not (whatever my name was then) but something real…something with a meaning.

And then the whispers told me. 

Asazi.

At first I rejected it. NO WAY! I can't name myself after a cheating, lying bitch. Asazi's a **disgrace** to mankind. A liar a cheater… But the longer I thought about it, the more it began to make sense. Yes…I will make up for **your** mistakes, Asazi. I will make right what you have and will do wrong. **When** I meet another Xynan, I will **not** hurt him, or cheat him.

**Ever.**

They were strong oaths but I would keep them, and to make sure I did, I made one last vow. **If I ever break one of these oaths…suicide will be the ONLY answer…**

It was a death wish. I knew it was…but what did I have to lose? 

I began to plan out my life. I would scavenge the streets, take only what I could find. Hopefully find weak hearts, and then use them at my disposal so I could survive. Survival of the Fittest…wasn't that the term for mercenaries?

Yes…I would do just that. When I turn thirteen I will head for South America. How I will get there is a whole other matter and I would deal with that then but when I do, I will pretend to be a prostitute. I will get hired, hopefully by a don or one of his assistants. Then, when I get to the don's house, I will show him my training, my skills that I will have developed over the years.

They will make me one of their assassins and I would become a geisha. Yes…a geisha. A girl assassin that uses her looks and body to get my target's trust…then take him out.

Yes. That would be my life. And when I meet another Xynan, whether on the job or not, I would take him and forever be with him. Until I die. Until I go away forever like my parents and Shawn and the hundreds that die each day…and like the thousands that are born each day that will eventually go. 

I would be like the winds. Never seen but felt. 

__

Funny, now that I think about it. I had planned out my life…but it never went as I planned. No surprise for me, of course…and to think that I actually dreamed of being a superstar model and actor…funny…

I swam for another hour or two, then started my walk back home. I had plans for life. Life that was meaningless but would certainly not have it's noneffectiveness…I will change the world. **Kill** leaders around the world for money…only to be hired for more. 

My walk home was undisturbed…yet it was disturbing. Undisturbed because I didn't see anyone. My solitudal wish had been granted for now…but it was disturbing because the birds weren't chirping. I didn't see a single life form all the way back up to house…my skin got goosebumps and I knew…just **knew** that something bad was going to happen.

I didn't know what but…

I reached the house and went inside. I was dry; the sun's summer heat beating down on me as I walked back was more than enough to dry me up so I sat on the sofa.

Weariness had overcome me, physically and mentally. My plans and the swimming all drifted away into an endless tunnel of refuge…sleep…

-_-

I awoke to two car door's slamming shut. A few seconds later, Xynan and Asazi walked in. They were talking to each other in dense tones, tense tones of voices. They were fighting and I sat back in the sofa, pretending to be asleep as I listened to the argument unfold.

"…Why were you at Karachi Club," Xynan was demanding. 

I blinked an eye to get a glimpse of Asazi. She was dressed like an eighty's prostitute. She was obviously one too, judging by how her hair was messed up. Xynan's next question answer mine. 

"And why were you making out with that Japanese guy?! You had cash sticking out of your—," Xynan was going to keep going but Asazi cut him off.

"**I wasn't** making out with him; he was raping me and no one helped until you came in!"

Xynan shook his head and said, "Bullshit. You had—," he sighed but continued, "—you were kissing him while he was touching you…and you had money. Cash sticking out of your underwear and for Christ's sake, you weren't even wearing your pants?! Why weren't you at work?"

She was, I thought with a mental smile…then Asazi shocked me.

"I was." Simple…but the truth Asazi had told the truth. 

I decide to stop the fight; I yawned and pretended to wake up. I looked at Xynan with a smile and said, "Hello Xynan." I turned Asazi and gave her a glare…then a sudden movement caught my eye. I looked out a window to see two vehicles pulling up to the beach house, both full of people.

"Oh **no**," Xynan said. He turned to me and yelled, "Run upstairs! NOW! Hide in the closet upstairs!"

I jumped off the sofa but couldn't bring myself to run away. I couldn't run from my first Xynan, even though I knew there would be another one. And for some reason…I couldn't run from Asazi either. She was somehow attached to me now…perhaps it was because I adopted her name.

The people outside were getting out of their cars and running up to the house.

Everything was going fast and my breathing got taken away as gunfire was heard, windows screeching, as they were broke into pieces by hard bullets. I was even more surprised when I saw Xynan pulled guns out of the stove.

He tossed one to Asazi who took aim and fired at people outside. Someone screamed and I heard a sickening crunch. I didn't run upstairs but I did hide behind the bookcase, still able to see everything that was happening. Xynan raised his gun to fire but his arm suddenly exploded with red liquid and he yelled out in pain. Asazi screamed as eight people poured into the house. 

I closed my eyes and, for the first time, prayed that nothing bad would happen to Xynan…my prayer wasn't answered…


	9. Cruel Miracle

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 9

One of the people, presumably the leader, pulled out a pistol from his left back pocket and said, "Hello Xynan. How are you?"

"Fine until you came here," Xynan replied, clutching his bleeding shoulder. 

The leader snorted. "You are so full of it, Xynan. Thought you could trap up our turf without us realizing who did it? Well you're wrong…and you know what? You killed Timothy!"

Xynan showed no emotion but Asazi certainly did. She was really pissed off. Four other guys stepped up, two grabbing and holding Xynan and the other two Asazi. "Violence won't solve anything," Xynan said as the leader pulled out a knife.

The leader didn't show that he had heard Xynan. Just looked at the knife, anger slowly growing on his face. "You know which trap killed Timothy?" Xynan didn't even blink. "I SAID, DO YOU KNOW WHICH TRAP KILLED MY LITTLE BROTHER!!"

One of the guys holding Xynan grabbed a handful of his hair and said, "Answer him."

"No."

The leader sighed. "Let me **show** you…better yet, I'll let you **feel** what killed my brother. My only family." 

I almost gasped. Their leader was exactly like me. Lusting to kill, craving for the flow of anger so he could unleash his heart. I watched as their leader walked over to Xynan and put the knife on his cheek.

"You can kill me, Brink, but you can't kill **them.** They'll avenge me; I was a recruiter, a trainer. All I do is follow orders. We are going to make a new world. Starting here, right here…in Miami. But you are slowing us down so we had to slow you down…the hard way." 

Brink cut Xynan's cheek enough to make it bleed. "You wanna start a 'New World'? That's bull**shit**…but it's not if you're gonna kill my brother. No…it's not. Now it's going to have to be war." Xynan's eyes widened. Brink smiled at his reaction and continued, "That's right, Xynan. **WAR.**"

Brink gestured with his hands, trying to create a picture. "Can you see it? War on the streets of Miami and you're little corporation will be in the middle of it. Before you killed him, Timothy gathered the gangs and told then what you were doing. It's Miami United verses you're New World. And we're gonna kick your ass."

Xynan started laughing. "Miami United??? That's the dumbest gang name I've ever heard. You are—"

BAM! Brink's fist slammed into Xynan's forehead

The knife came down and sliced open Xynan's belly. His insides began to flow out as Xynan yelled in pain. Brink pulled his knife halfway through Xynan's waist…, "This is how Timothy died. String! String so thin that it **cuts through you before you even notice**. Well…we didn't have any…so **this** is what my **brother FELT!**"

Brink brought the knife all the way through Xynan, separating his torso from his legs. "AAAAAAAAAA," Xynan screamed…and a few seconds later he lost consciousness. Brink snorted and said, "Didn't even take it like a man."

Then Brink turned to Asazi, who was looking in horror at Xynan's severed body…

I looked at one of the people, one of the gang members…**our** eyes met…and he turned away.

"What? You don't enjoy that sight, Asazi? That's only your boyfriend! There's nothing wrong with killing him is there? After all—," Brink stepped up to Asazi's face and whispered, "—he killed **my** only family." Brink took a step back and said, "Do you have any family, Asazi?"

She didn't answer. She just stared at Xynan's fallen body. Stared until tears came. Brink laughed and said something that I couldn't hear because of everyone's evil laughter. Asazi was suddenly on the floor…I closed my eyes and listened to her screams and moans of horror. Asazi and I were the same, just as Brink and I were the same.

Crying for the ventilation of our hearts. But unwilling to experience it. They raped Asazi and then, when Brink was done, he stabbed Asazi in the back of the neck, the tip of the blade showing at the front of her throat. I silently cried. And to think that I was planning to live this kind of life. To kill others just so I could have **my** revenge…

Asazi and Xynan were both dead. 

I noticed, as the gangs left whooping and hollering in the **happiness** of their victory, that the man who'd seen me was whispering into Brink's ear…I only cried for a few minutes.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was only four in the afternoon. Then, about ten minutes after they left, I ran outside and sprinted the mile to the beach as the ocean welcomed me into it's open arms…I went as far as I could go before my arms gave way…as I drowned, I realized that I didn't want to live…and as I drowned, I realized I didn't…even…care…

-_-

I woke up coughing and hacking my lungs out. Or more specifically, the water out of my lungs. I was onshore…how did I live? I didn't want to. All my loved ones were **gone**. Never to returned. Not to mention I watched Asazi experience everything that had happened to me…I really should take her name. We are alike, Asazi and I…she was touched, I was, she and I both lost loved ones right before our eyes…

I slowly sat up and looked around. I saw my footprints about four feet away, the footprints from when I ran down here. I glanced at Shawn's old watch and it read: 4:53. I had been here for nearly an hour…but how did I survive? A miracle? No…nothing in my life is a miracle. If there was, it was for an even darker purpose…and miracles for the worst aren't miracles. 

I slowly got up and knew that survival was my first priority. I hadn't eaten yet today so…I started walking back up to Xynan's house. When I got there…I sense something…different. I walked inside, my heart thumping and my blood rushing…adrenaline I think it's called. 

I stepped into the open living room and—no one was there. No one alive anyway. I looked down at the floor and saw Asazi's dead body, a whole in the back of her neck, her head in a puddle of dark, tainted blood. I looked over and saw Xynan's legs but—where was the rest of his body?! 

I started frantically looking around, into the game room and the kitchen, behind the sofa and the bookcase…it was gone. Except for one area…I walked over to the spiral, metal staircase and walked up it. Walked up into the attic.

It wasn't what I thought it would be…which made it a huge surprise. There was a billboard of guns on one wall of the room; another wall of knives and then the other half of the room was like a bedroom. A king-sized bed, a TV with the remote sitting on a nightstand nearby…Xynan was a gangster…

No, he was something else. This probably isn't the way a gang member would have his weapons laid out. They probably would've been hidden in various places. 

I walked over to the gun wall looked at the guns…all their safety's were off and they were all loaded. Xynan was ready for anything. There were all sorts of guns; I didn't know what they were called but I sure as hell knew how to use them. 

My daddy and I used to visit Grandpa King (who died about a half-year ago); we went hunting all the time. I picked up a six-shooter…I think it was called a Colt. I picked up a few other weapons too, putting them between my shorts' waistline and my skin. They were coldly comfortable. 

There were also two dressers and I walked over to the one simply labeled 'Asazi'. I opened the top drawers to see bras and thongs…the middle drawer contained all sorts of strange clothing and the bottom had exactly what I was looking for: jeans. I put on a pair and they fell back down…hmm…I looked in Xynan's dresser and found belts in the middle drawer. I chose one that was adjustable all the way around and put it through the loops of the jeans and in a few minutes I was completely dressed. 

Very baggy jeans and a shirt that went down to my knees. I shrugged; it could be a new style. 

I changed my four weapons' positions and was comfortable except for one thing; I was super-hungry. I went downstairs and peeked into the fridge. I found a pan that had half-cooked sausage and ate it hungrily. I then found a picnic basket of about six PBJ sandwiches. I ate them and though I was still a little hungry, I stopped eating and wiped off the fingerprints of what I had touched.

A thought occurred to me and I walked back upstairs and looked around for some gloves. I found a pair black-leather ones, very nice, big but nice.

I learned this from watching Shawn as he would leave the hotel rooms. He also deodorized them. 

I walked outside, leaving the door open. I got into Xynan's car and looked around for the keys. Damn, I thoughts, when I couldn't find them. I decided I would walk and left, following the dirt road toward Miami. After about a half-hour of walking I reached the freeway and walked alongside it. Time seemed to go by fast as I walked because it seemed like only an hour later when I realized that the sun was completely set and the moon was out.

The stars…have you ever looked at them and wondered what purpose they serve? Navigation for the old times but what about now? Now they were blinking mysteries, stars so far away that we only get a speck of them. And the moon; how did that get there and why does it have so many holes in it? 

I sighed as I walked. Had to have walked a good ten miles by now because I was reaching the city. I passed the city limit sign of Miami and kept walking. I needed a place to sleep…where? I didn't know but I was sure I'd find one.

Somehow, Brink came to my mind…only anger came with him. I was caught up in this urban war. Not voluntarily, but the man had seen me, and Brink knew it. I don't know why they left me there, but it would eventually occur to Brink that I had seen what had happened…and he would definitely send out his gang to hunt me down…

I wasn't ready. I didn't have the training, the experience that I knew I needed. And my ammo was very limited. I didn't even think about getting anything other than the guns. Good thing they were loaded…I walked until my feet were soar and my watch read: 10:03. Then I saw a warehouse on the corner of a street, it's windows all broken and it obviously hadn't been used for awhile. I jogged up one of the windows, looked around and jumped inside. 

It was dark, dusty. And somehow, the place was damp, mold growing on the walls. There were crates stacked up all around and I tried to find a goo place to sleep. There, on top of a large stack of crates. I jumped up, my fingers reaching the top of the first crate. The guns pulled me down with there weight but I didn't stop. 

Push yourself, I mentally screamed at myself. Using the anger and energy of the sandwiches, I crawled up onto the first crate and laid down on my back…a few seconds later, I was asleep…

-_-

I awoke the next morning to cars honking. Another day…another day…my urban life was beginning…and I laughed to myself as I realized I was only six-years-old, presumably about to be hunted for, homeless, and (even though I ate a lot)…hungry…


	10. Evil?

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 10

__

I was on my own again. I didn't know it then but I had actually started training for my future job as I scavenged Xynan's house. I actually started my training when I left his house. When I armed myself and prepared myself to pull the trigger. It was pull the trigger or die…do or die. No doubt that Brink had realized that I was a witness and that I could go to the cops…which meant that he had probably deployed his bunch and told them to hunt me down and bring me to them. His first mistake. His second was the fact that he highly underestimated me…highly…

I left the abandoned warehouse and walked deeper into the industrial part of Miami. Eventually, I got tired of it and turned around, walking back to the metropolitan area. I was, with no doubt, alone. On my own. 

The death of Asazi and Xynan played through my mind over and over again like a movie. Brink, slowly pulling the knife through Xynan's waist, slicing him in half…Brink's knife going through Asazi's neck and peeking out the other end, right at the center of the throat…the blood sinking out of them…Xynan's intestines spilling—

I closed my eyes and blocked the thought from my mind. Eventually I would get over it. I stopped walking and smiled. If I'm gonna be killing people, I'm going to see lots of blood…I better get used to it. Slowly, reluctantly, I forced the thought back into my mind. His scream echoed in my own ears, though he was dead. 

I played the scene over and over. I hesitantly got used to the blood, no longer gasped at the sight of it but began to welcome it; it meant that I hit the target. Or in this temporary case, Brink hit the target. 

I got used to and continued walking down the streets. I had no food and I was hungry. I decided that if I were to survive, I would need a place to get food without easily being caught. I smiled. At the next intersection, I turned left on the sidewalk and saw exactly what I wanted to see in the distance, maybe fifteen miles away. 

The beach. People were careless because they were having fun there. I started jogging. I had to be in shape if I was to outwit and outsmart Brink too. He was smart, no denying that. All, if not most, gang leaders were smart…it's just that they were rejects because the rest of the people that they were with couldn't get stupid enough to understand him. That was the way it was with most smart people nowadays…

Rejected for their smartness. Was it jealousy? Was it greed? No. It was jealousy. People were jealous so they insulted and took them down, tearing down their heart until they became careless, until they didn't care about the world and themselves.

I made another vow. I will never insult somebody **out loud**. Sure everybody does in there mind but if you do it out loud, it hurts them more, makes them more vulnerable to rage and unleashing everything they've kept inside…

I will never insult someone out loud.

It was simple. And honest. Insulting people breaks them. Turns them into bullies. How can you insult someone when they have a hard family life and can't help but be angry at school? How—why do you insult someone if they like to read? 

I made another vow, then and there too. If I ever see someone insulting someone else insulting anyone else, I will **take him or her down.** Maybe not then, but soon after that.

I smiled as I jogged toward the lit beach; the road that I was taking led straight there without any other turns. Slowly, as I jogged toward the hot Miami Beach, the traffic on the road began to pick up. It was nearing lunchtime. For them **and** me. 

-_-

When I got there, I saw a few college parties and a lot of individual families and a few school buses around. Apparently elementary school was still in session down here in Miami. I noticed that a lot of the school kids, mostly, I estimated, were about second or third graders. I smiled and thought free swimsuits!

I looked around, still catching my breath from the twelve-mile run. No one was on the buses…hmm…how to get into them. Bust a window on the door and crawl through it. I was skinny so I could probably do it.

I walked back up to the huge parking lot and found an area that had rocks in it. I found a big one that I could barely lift and picked it up. It was burning hot from the high-noon sun. I ignored the pain and kept going. It hurt my hands but I had to take the pain. I made it to the school bus and looked around one last time. 

No one around…no one nearby anyway. The rushing ocean's waves and the joyous, shouting kids blocked out the noise as I heaved the rock and—

It bounced off the door. I sighed. I had missed the glass. I picked up the rock again, my arms burning from weariness. I figured out why I missed; the car that was parked next to the bus was too close. I had tried to protect the car. My next thought was why? I heaved the rock again, this time the back of the rock scratching off some of the paint of the car but the rock smashed through the glass.

I smiled and dusted my hands off. 

Then I looked at the broken shards of glass and—

FLASH! I screamed more and looked out the windshield. The road was coming up fast and—FLASH! 

I was back, looking at the shards of broken glass, my breathing was fast…I had relived my car wreck. I had promised to myself I would never bring it back but…I couldn't help it. It happened so sudden and it was so surprising that I didn't even know what was happening until I realized the road was coming toward us real fast.

It was…exhilarating. But I never wanted to relive the crash again. My Daddy planning on surprising me and my loving Mommy so caring…they had given birth to me and loved me and **died**. Once again the question arose: Why did God always take the loving ones? 

But a second later I realized the question itself was wrong. God doesn't always take the loving ones. God had saved me from Shawn. He had killed Shawn, saved me by doing so.

I snapped out of my train of thought and crawled through the broken window. The bus was packed with backpacks and swimsuits everywhere. Apparently the students were to change after lunch or something. I took my time, digging through the backpacks until I found the right swimsuit. It was a one-piece, colored like aqua camouflage.

I took off my clothes and put on the bathing suit, then took the emergency door at the back of the bus out; it's screaming alarm hurting my ears until I was away from the bus. 

To make sure that the girl I stole it from spotted her swimsuit, I walked about a mile down the beach, close to a college party and a large, large family reunion. I could tell they were all family because a lot of their looks were similar to other's. About seventy people made up the reunion and they were having a huge family day at the beach.

I smiled. It would be a family day…and for awhile, I would be part of the family. They had started serving the hot dogs and hamburgers a few minutes ago. I snuck in, gradually making my way around without being noticed due to my size. 

I got two hot dogs and three hamburgers onto one plate and walked away. It wasn't hard at all. No one noticed me…no one…**noticed**…

I cried as soon as I was away. No one noticed me. Just more proof that I was alone in the world. Alone.

I ate the food and, my oversized jeans and T-shirt in hand, I continued down the beach until I reached another area. This area had hardly anybody in it. Just a bunch of older teenagers with a boom box pumped up real loud and the group of guys and girls playing volleyball. 

I stashed my clothes and guns in an old sandcastle and went swimming. 

I swam for about an hour, enjoying the cool ocean water and thinking about Brink.

About how he sliced up Xynan and how he murdered them both. How Asazi cried and he ruthlessly put a knife through her neck. How he and his gang members came to Xynan's house and raped his girlfriend in it. And to think that I was to be as ruthless and emotionless as that.

No…it was like this: and to think that I'm **going to be** as ruthless and emotionless as that. Was that evil? Yes, it was. But I would kill the bad guys like Brink. I would become a sniper, a killer, a mercenary. A hired assassin that pulls the trigger, sending a bullet toward someone he or she didn't even know…I knew it was evil. But what was evil?

Was evil ruthlessly killing people for no reason? For a piece of turf? But was it evil to kill someone when they're hurting other people? I couldn't define evil…but I was so deep in thought that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings…

Didn't pay attention to who exactly was in that group.

And when I surfaced after holding my breath as long as I could, I looked toward shore to see Brink looking toward me with two of his buddies. He recognized me…and I recognized him. I made a mistake right then and there. 

I should've acted like I didn't notice him, didn't recognize him…but I didn't. And from my face, he knew it was me, and from my face, he knew that he would have to kill me because of what I witnessed…

****

Author's Note

May the action begin in the next chapter. MWAHAHAHAHA!


	11. Destiny?

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 11

Brink smiled nodded his head a little and started walking toward me. I was too vulnerable in the water so I got as close as I could to shore without getting close to Brink. 

I was scared. Fear. I was experiencing my first case of absolute fear. Fear so powerful that I froze up as Brink looked at me with those cold, piercing eyes. "Hello little girl," he said mockingly at me. 

I shook myself, trying to control the shaking that was taking over my body. I was very scared. "What do you want, Brink," I said. No point in trying to fake him out. He knew that I had seen it and knew that he had to get rid of me. 

So here I was. On the brink of a beach fight. One the brink of war. Against Brink. How ironic. 

I took off, running through the ankle-high water toward the sandcastle that hid my guns. I ran for what seemed like a few seconds when I reached the sandcastle but I knew it was longer.

I grabbed my clothes and threw them into the air, my eyes spotting two black objects while another two were too far to catch. I caught the two guns in each hand; their cold handles seemed to burn into my hands. I raised them and aimed at Brink and his two buddies.

They stopped running after me, their distance between them and me less than ten yards. It was close and I was a rookie…they could probably tell because my hands were shaking and my lip trembling. "Don't come ANY closer. I saw what you did and I don't care. I won't tell anybody."

Brink smiled and looked down at the sand, then back up at me. He shook his head no and said, "But you see, little girl, it don't work like that. When you kill someone, there are **no witnesses.**" He paused, gesturing to the beach, then continued, "Everyone here knows that you had—have—two guns in your hand and **if** you pull the trigger, everyone will know. Everyone will hear and look. And you will be caught with at least twenty people able to identify you…"

I made my first mistake in the killing business. I hesitated. Brink dove at me as his two buddies flanked me. I fired twice!

BLAM! BLAM! One shot was accompanied by; "Ooh shit!"

The other was a miss. I dove to my right, firing at two blurs of bodies running around. I hit the sand and fired off three more rounds in each gun. Another figure went down and fired at Brink, who was still busy running around, dodging bullets. 

I fired again and again until the ammo was gone in one gun. I started to get to my feet when a foot planted itself into my back. "Ooh," I cried as I flew forward into the sand. It flew up and I had an idea. 

I heard Brink stepping up behind me. I grabbed a fistful of sand and whipped into the air behind me as I whirled around to face Brink. "AAA," he cried as sand flew into his eyes, burning them. I then sidekicked him in the upper rib cage, knocking the wind out of him. Then I made the best move that I had made so far; I turned ran. 

"IT'S NOT OVER YOU LITTLE BITCH," Brink screamed as I ran away. 

People were looking and gasping and talking and pointing at me as I ran. I didn't care. I kept running until I was gone from the beach. It was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the summer sun's heat worse than it had been all day. 

I had to find a place to sleep and fast. I was too tired to keep running so I made a turn at the next intersection and stopped running. People were looking and pointing at me, even though I was at least a mile from the beach—oh. 

I still had one gun in my hand. I checked the chamber and it **one** bullet left. The clip was empty so I took it out and tossed it away. I was still in the stolen swimsuit too; my clothes at the beach no doubt tore up by Brink's rage… 

I put the small pistol in the lower part of my swimsuit. It was heavy and pulled it down with every step I took so I put my hands on my sides and held the suit up without it making me look like I was.

About a half-hour later I found a hotel area that had a bunch of different huts as rooms, trying to make it a Caribbean setting hotel. I snuck into one of the empty huts, went into a closet and fell asleep…exhaustion had completely taken over me…

-_-

Someone screamed I snapped awake to see a woman standing over me. Her hands were shaking and she was obviously scared. After a few seconds of confusion, her face began to turn to sympathy. "What are you doing here," she asked me in a gentle voice. 

Apparently my hotel room

I got to my feet and dashed out of the hut. I ran past a man that was carrying suitcases up to the little hotel hut. I dashed down until I was out of sight and heading back down to the beach. I was going to work out tonight. 

Brink had probably left the beach a couple minutes after I did; two of his buddies were shot, maybe dead, so he had to clean up fast, before cops came. I was scared but I had to get to the beach for getting stronger. Had too.

I had plans for the night. I was going to work very hard. I was going to find a strong undertow and let it pull me in. Then I would fight it will all my strength and if I made it out, I was obviously destined to be an assassin. If I didn't…then my life was a waste. 

A good-for-nothing waste, like Shawn. The moon was out, my watch reading about ten o'clock. The beach seemed a little higher than it was at Xynan's house…I remember my Dad telling me something about the moon and something called 'tide'. I didn't understand it then and still don't now. Gravity and the moon's pull on the Earth? What's gravity?

I watched the watery waves gently crash onto the shore…so peaceful. Peaceful…unlike the weapon in my swimming suit shorts. I pulled it out and found a rock to put it on; I knew the sand would mess it up.

Once again, I thought of Brink and evil. What exactly was evil? The fact that I shot two people today…was that evil? It was in self-defense. They were probably planning on drowning me. I had to get the guns and shoot them or I would've died. Better them than me…isn't that right? The whispers suddenly came back. 

A whisper said, "That's right, Asazi. Better them than you…after all, it's a hard world to live in and survival is the key to everything." At first I was surprised; the whispers had never called me by my name…then I realized that I didn't have a name the first time they spoke. 

A different whisper said, "No. Evil is breaking any one of the commandments in any way. Treat people **like you want to be treated**…**that** is the key to survival. As long as you don't let me people take the best of you, that is the key to enjoying your life."

Treat people like **I **want to be treated? How is that possible? To treat someone like I want to be treated? To be kind, giving, caring…that's not even possible. There's **no way** that I could do that.

"Yes there is," it said back. The whisper seemed almost happy…, "You must be that way **first**…then it will slowly turn for the better and, after much patience, you will have respect and success. Treat people like **you** want to be treated. That is the rule in life…"

****

BUT HOW?!

That's impossible, I thought. There's not a single person is this damned world that does that…

The whisper's counter to my last thought was heartbreaking. It said two words…

"Your parents."

Tears came to my eyes. I started crying, even though I promised to never shed another tear…I couldn't help it. Why hide your emotions? Why keep them built up inside, knowing that someday you will explode and hurt someone that you really didn't' mean to…? **Life **itself was impossible. 

In deep emotion, I ran into the water. It splashed around me and I felt something tug lightly at my feet. The undertow…the rip current of the waters. I closed my eyes and took another step forward. The pull got stronger…I took a deep breath, raised my other foot and—

"AAA!" I screamed as it took me down, getting a lungfull of water. I quickly got myself back together and started swimming with sudden strength.

I pushed myself, screaming mentally at myself. I thought PUSH YOURSELF! BE STRONGER THAN ASAZI WAS! YOU CAN DO IT!

It didn't help though. It took thirty seconds to get two feet up…it was apparent that I wasn't to be an assassin…quite obvious. So I stopped moving my arms and let my body get pulled by the current. I was scared; to die was to be free…but to die and not know what was next, if there was anything, was not freedom. It just a cage in another form. 

About forty-five seconds after I first got pulled I sense something…a weakness in the tide as it pulled me sideways, parallel to the shore… Though my arms burned and my lungs screamed for air, I started swimming again, this time parallel to the shore. I was starting to get away! 

I gave it all I had and slowly, I got away from the current and swam to the surface. I surfaced, gasping for blessed air…I was alive. And I was wrong. It was my destiny to become an assassin. Sure I wasn't going to treat people like I wanted to be treated; how could you if you were hired to kill? But I was going to live out my life.

I would do the best that I could possible do. 

It was my destiny…I saw—felt—the weakness in the tide. I knew it was there and I took advantage of it. I would see the weakness in people's lives, knowing just at the right time when to pull the trigger and get away…

Destiny? What was destiny? The fact that our lives our already planned out and that we have no choice because everything we do is part of it? No…there was no such thing as destiny. I make my **own** destiny; I will meet my **own **fate. 

Destiny isn't real because I just beat it. I didn't drown even though I had already given up…perhaps it was my destiny to drown, but I changed it. Perhaps it was my destiny to get murdered by Brink but I changed that too…destiny isn't real. It's bullshit. An idea that was created by some person that didn't want to live their life like they were…so they said, 'these bad times are just part of my destiny to become a great person'…yeah right.

I swam back to shore. 

****

My fate would be whatever I wanted it to be. Whether or not it's rough on the way there. No way that anybody's going to stop me…no way.

I picked up the gun and put it back in my swimsuit…I looked to the left of the beach…the beach ended and there were some cliffs a few more miles down; I could see in the moonlight. 

Down to the right…just a whole lot more beaches, parking lots and the city…I chose left and started walking toward the cliffs. I would sleep up there tonight. I doubt anybody'll go up there…those cliffs are about fifty feet high. I played with the gun that I still had, learning how to insert and eject clips…I figured it out in a few seconds.

I started climbing up the huge hill, noticing that as I got closer, there was a patch of trees and bushes. I reached the top and walked into the little grove…found a good tree and sat under it…there were some clouds in the distance, across the ocean…it looked like it was going to rain tomorrow…I only hoped it would…

Brink's gang probably wouldn't look for me a whole lot if it were raining…

I fell asleep, my thoughts on Brink and how my heart weeped for him and whatever sad past he might've had…

****

Author's Note

So how was it? I know, I know…there wasn't much action but what can I say? But…the next chapter, 12, is ALL action. Sure she pauses and thinks a little, but it's SOLID ACTION GUNFIGHT! I promised… There will be a lot more in the chapters to come (after all, there is a gang war going on…you were told about that in chapter 9…). I hope you're enjoying the fic, even though it's pretty dark…I think that when I hit chapter 14 I'm gonna stop for a few days, kinda take a break…anyway, hope you're enjoying it and please review!


	12. Cold Killers

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 12

I awoke to pouring rain and people's voices. 

I was awake in half-a-second and on my feet in another. The rain was very gently drizzling, I could see that. The day was gray and my watch said it was around ten in the morning. The voices were coming from the hill that I was on. I looked around in the grove I was in, saw a tree I could climb and got up in it. 

High enough to see who was coming up the hill…it was Brink and four other people. They were arguing and it looked like Brink was just checking to see if I was here…the others were all pointing toward the city and saying something like, "Asleep—there—." And they were obviously armed; their wet shirts stuck to their shirts, showing there the butts of guns hiding around their waists. 

I breathed a sigh of relaxation and started climbing down the tree…unfortunately, the rain had wetted the branches a little more. I slipped, let out a screech and fell down the rest of the way. I landed in a pile of pine needles, a few poking into my stomach.

The wind had been knocked from me, I tried to breathe in but it didn't come for a few seconds…footsteps. Running footsteps. I yelled as I fell!

I got to my feet and started running up the hill, toward the cliffs. There were some large rocks up there and—BLAM! A bullet whizzed by my head and plowed into the hill. I ran faster. I was running as fast as I could when I reached a huge boulder and dove behind it. I waited, listening carefully and trying to silence my loud, out-of-breath breathing. 

I couldn't hear them…I pulled the gun out of my swimsuit. One bullet, five people…I certainly wasn't going to survive. But I would give them my best. 

I was probably supposed to die last night, when I swam…I had tricked fate and now it was back to kill me. I took a peek around the corner of the boulder. I saw Brink the others all looking at different parts of the cliff…one of them saw me looking and yelled and pointed in my direction. I whipped my head back around but it was too late.

They knew I was here. I was going to die…I heard them pulling the hammers back on their pistols but I didn't hear them coming towards me. I looked to my left and waited for someone to suddenly come into my sight.

The heavy gun in my hands was ready but I didn't know what the rain would do to it. They didn't care what happened to their guns; they didn't hesitate to pull them out when they saw me…

I had the gun ready to fire. I was scared, my heart racing, the rain picking up and turning into hard, thunderstorm rain. Suddenly, thunder filled my ears and I winced…then I realized it wasn't thunder. It was a gun firing and—BLAM! Another shot! I instinctively ducked and a bullet smashed into the boulder I was hiding behind. 

What the hell? How are shooting at me—I saw the man duck back down. He had gotten to another boulder, to my left, about thirty yards down from where I was. I got distracted; I thought too much about whether my gun would fire and how they handled theirs. 

I raised the gun and aimed it at where he was standing up before he ducked. Suddenly he popped up and—BLAM! I fired my last bullet and the kick knocked me back a little…but I saw my hit.

I had hit him in the head; its contents exploding backwards after I hit it…I didn't close my eyes. I didn't even feel sick at the sight of the insides of his head. I slowly sat back up and looked at my empty gun.

No more ammo…not good. I then thought hey, at least I can still throw the gun; that might hurt somebody. I heard them yelling at each other, arguing over something.

Somebody must be really pissed off about me taking down that guy… That thought sparked another: the guy I took down has guns and ammo! I took a peek at Brink and his gang for a second, then whirled around. They didn't see me; two were looking toward the dead body, the other two arguing about something. The pouring rain made their voices inaudible. 

I decided to go for it. Thirty yards…four people, four guns…four **experienced** people, four **fully-loaded** guns…the odds were against me in the worst of ways…but I didn't have a choice, did I?

I studied the dead man's hiding place. The fifty-foot cliff was about five yards from the rock he was hiding behind but other than that, there was nothing but downhill…which meant it was go for the gun, or stay and eventually die…

I took a deep breath. The arguing had stopped their voices now calm, suspicious. They were planning something…

I took another deep breath, knowing that time was short…think Asazi. There is another solution to this…THINK! A few seconds later and another thought occurred to me…they probably think I still have ammo… I smiled.

I would make a run for it, aiming the gun at them and, hopefully, they would duck and say, "Look out! She's still got the gun!" …Or something like that. I had no other choice. 

I looked again and—BLAM!—pulled my head back. They were all looking toward me; one of them had fired at me…I was stuck. Do or die, once again.

I got to my feet, let out a war cry and started sprinting toward the boulder. I raised my left hand and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw them duck and roll when I raised the gun. They're afraid of me I thought…and laughed. As I was running I threw the gun at one of them but it went nowhere near them. 

When there were ten yards left to run, one of them realized what I was doing and started shooting at me.

A bullet whizzed by my head, another going right between my legs. I was almost there when I tripped on a rock and plummeted down to the muddy ground. As I fell I heard a bullet whiz over my head; right where my head would've been if I hadn't tripped. 

I heard more gunshots but as I rolled down to the area behind the boulder, I didn't hear the bullets. I looked over at the headless corpse, saw two guns and grabbed them, one from in between his pants and waist and the other in his right hand. 

I made a quick peek at the gang. I couldn't see any of them; they were all still ducking on the hill. They knew now that I was armed. And they were probably scared because of the one bullet that it took to take out the man next to me…but that was more of a sniper shot. I wasn't a close range shooter, like most people. 

I felt the adrenaline flowing through my veins as I readied myself for a rematch. I peeked again and got a bullet smash into the boulder, then ricochet away. I was no longer scared of battle. I was confident; I felt that I could take them on and win. After all, I had taken one down with one bullet **and** now I had two guns that were probably mostly loaded. 

I got to my feet, still ducking because if I didn't, my head would go above the boulder and they could shoot me. I closed my eyes for a second, breathed a deep breath and dove out into the open, one gun in my hand, the other sitting under the boulder as backup. BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM! I fired off four rounds as they came into my view. I saw blood spray into the air as I crashed into the downward hill, my body rolling down because of the mud. 

I quickly got to my feet but the rain was loosening up the ground. Everything was slippery. As I started running back up to my cover, I saw that I had only shot one guy…out of four shots. And they were all raising their guns toward me. I was ten **feet** from the boulder. 

I watched as I ran and the second their guns were aiming at me, I fell to the ground. BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM! They had fired five bullets and all of them went above me. I kept crawling up to my hiding place and one of them started firing again. BLAM! 

It only takes one bullet to take someone down. One shot to end someone's life…and the shot that that guy fired smashed into the mud about two feet in front of me, the mud splashing down into the my eyes and all over my face—not like I wasn't already muddy.

I got to my feet and dove back behind the large rock. Mud was in my mouth but I didn't care.

I figured out why they were missing me. I was small, much smaller than the people that they probably fight with were. Most people their age were usually around six feet tall…I was only four feet tall. Kind of a big difference when you're shooting at someone who is in mud and can't run because of the mud. What made the fight even more frustrating was the fact that it was raining down hard. 

They weren't used to that—after all, it was Miami. 

I readied myself for another encounter but knew that the gun I was using didn't have many bullets left. I then hid the other gun under the dead body so it wouldn't get too wet…just in case. 

I took a deep breath. Two were down, three to go. Judging by the amount of blood that flew into the air on my last run, the guy I hit was dead or fatally wounded…now **I **had to stay alive but…how? There was no escape. 

To be or not to be…that is thy question…no. There was a different question…yet similar. 

To live or not to live…that is thy question. 

I checked the clip of the gun I was using. It had three bullets and, of course, there was one in the chamber…needless to say, I didn't have enough. It took four shots on my last hit and run to nail one guy. With three guys left and four bullets…it just plain wasn't enough. And I had to save the other gun…one more hit and run…one more.

I got ready, breathed deep and stood up, crouching so they couldn't see me but I was on my feet. I stepped out a little—BLAM BLAM—and jumped right back behind the boulder. The bullets missed but not by much…then I felt the icy pain in my left arm…I looked at it, not knowing what to expect. I looked at my arm and was surprised; I wasn't shot. A bullet had gotten so close that it took off a little bit of skin. Too close; I had almost gotten hit. 

Tears came to my eyes. This is it. The end of my life. But I wouldn't go without a fight. I was bleeding a little but…I wouldn't win. But I would still give them the best that I could. I pulled the body next to me and took the hidden gun out from under him.

"This is it," I whispered to myself, a gun in each of my hands. This is it…

My knee touched the dead body and I smiled at a thought: that's gonna be me in a few minutes. Dead, empty eyes…or for that matter, dead, muddy eyes.

Then I smiled at another thought. A much better one. A thought that didn't involve me dying…use the dead body as a **decoy**. Slowly, a plan formed in my head. Roll the body down the hill, they'll come up and start shooting at it…nail them while they shoot they're own man!

I quickly turned the body around so it could roll down the muddy hill. Then I pushed it and it slowly started sliding down in the mud. I went to the other side of the rock, opposite of where I had been peeking to see them and shooting from…BLAM! 

They were firing at the corpse! 

I jumped out from behind the rock, took aim and my finger began to squeeze the trigger—, "AAA," I let out a yelp as I slipped in a puddle of dark brown mud. I fell on my back but sat up as fast as I could and started firing blindly. The mud in my eyes was stinging them but I ignored it, opened them, saw Brink and his two buddies firing at the dead body and fired. 

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Two of them went down, Brink ducking as the first guy got hit, completely out of sight by the time the second guy was hit…it was me and him. I knew that because both of the shots that were hits hit the guys right in the chest…

"YOU WIN GIRL," came a yell. I smiled.

I had won the fight…


	13. Hidden Tears

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 13

I was happy. I had won the fight…my first gunfight and I had one.

But, unfortunately, I still wasn't as smart as I should've been.

Brink, about twenty yards down the hill, suddenly stood up and aimed his gun at me. I raised mine but he fired first. I dove left, feeling an impact on my lower right arm. I raised the gun and fired in his direction. I saw a spray of blood just before I hit the muddy ground. 

"Ooh," I cried as I hit, pain swallowing my arm into an illusion of emotion. 

Brink had been hit too, but I didn't know where or if he was still alive…he could easily be because my shot was not exactly planned. I got to my feet to see Brink looking in my direction, his face covered in anger and mud, a gun in his left hand which was at his side and blood soaking through his right shoulder. "YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS YOU LITTLE—," I started to raise my gun but he raised his and shot at me.

PING! The bullet hit the gun in my hand and ricocheted away, the gun in my hand flying backwards, of the cliff. Shit.

My own arm was bleeding. The pouring rain made it sting. Brink dropped the gun and bent down to pick it up. In three seconds I knew my only chance of survival was to jump. To jump off—his arm was coming back into sight and I knew that he had the gun in it…jump or run, jump or run, jump or—

JUMP!

I turned and ran the five yards to the edge of the cliff. I heard Brink yell something at me, I couldn't make it out…there were jagged rocks down there but the beach was about sixty yards upshore…I—

BLAM! The bullet whizzed by my ear and I turned around to see Brink falling in the mud. He had aimed carefully and missed because of the hit in his shoulder. JUMP! I took a step back and pushed myself off the cliff and into midair. I fell toward the water, the jagged rocks to far back for me to hit them. I sure hope this is gonna be deep.

SPLASH!!!! I hit the water doing a dive and in four more seconds, I hit the bottom of the ocean. A few seconds later my feet hit the floor, jagged rocks piercing into feet. I pushed off with one foot and desperately swam to the surface. 

AIR! I breathed in the precious matter and was relieved. I looked up when I felt a sudden pain in my shoulder. I glanced at it—blood! I had taken a hit! The blood was spreading into the ocean, turning nearby water bright red. I twisted my shoulder around, ignoring the strong, ferocious pain. I could see the bullet…it was sinking deeper each time I rotated my shoulder…crap.

I closed my eyes and, with my left hand, dug into the wound. "AAA," I cried as my hand dug for the small bullet. It hurt. Bad. 

My hands brushed against metal. I wrapped fingernails around the back of the bullet and pulled with all my small strength. I screamed again but I pulled the bullet out. Tears came to my eyes, responding to the overwhelming pain…but I still kicked my feet and started twisting my arms to swim. The pain…it was how I felt when Shawn hurt my feelings, only this was physical. This didn't affect my actual soul; this affected my fragile body.

I swam to sandy beach, which was about fifty yards down, and thirty yards to the actual shore. My muscles were tired; exhausted…yet I was happy. Happy that I won the fight. Even though Brink still lived I had won the fought. 

I collapsed on the shore, the pouring rain batting down on my body…and exhaustion overwhelmed my instinct and I drifted into sleep, slowly, inexorably into sleep…

-_-

****

CHACHINK.

I awoke to a noise and a cold, metallic feeling on my neck. A gun. I opened my eyes to find myself lying on the beach, Brink looking down at me with an expression that told me something bad was happening…well…I didn't really have to see his smirk to know something was wrong, just the fact that he was nearby meant something was wrong…

The really wrong part was the fact that Brink had a pistol under my chin, the barrel pointing up toward my brain. 

He shook his head. "That was good…real good…" He hesitated. It was pouring outside still; I figured that I had been asleep for a few minutes before he saw me. 

I did a quick overview on the situation. Status: critical…

…Like I said, a quick overview. That pretty much summed it up. Possibility of survival…**none. **I looked into Brink's hard, unemotional eyes…only they were emotional. Grief, sadness and greed filled them. And pure rage.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable. The way I felt when I was near Shawn. One move and I was dead. I couldn't do a thing…a thing…

"A miracle," Brink finally continued. "It was a miracle that you killed four people today…**your** miracle…and now it's time for my part of the bargain, MY miracle…" Tears streamed down his face. He was completely out of control. "'Thou shalt not take revenge'," he quoted…then he quoted, "'Thou shalt not **kill**, either…" He stuck his face in mine. "But I don't give a damn."

I shot my right knee up into his shoulder, sending the gun's barrel downward, aiming toward my stomach. Still bleeding from the gunshot wound in the shoulder, I whirled my arm around, blood flying from the wound into Brink's eyes. 

His hands flew up and he clawed at his eyebrows. Then he stopped…just sat there, his head in his hands…and then he looked at me. I was getting to my feet and starting to run. In all the sudden commotion, the pistol had been lost. "I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands…your blood won't be in my eyes; it will be all over me."

He jumped to my feet as I turned to run. I sprinted and fell a few seconds later. The beach was muddy, the yellow sand now brown and wet. And slippery. I started to get up but Brink smashed into me, my body crumpling under the sudden weight. I hit the ground, the wind quickly leaving my little lungs. I screamed once and he slowed for a second.

I used that second. I pulled a leg out from under him and pushed him backward with my muscle. He fell back but was up a second later…I was already running, fleeing from a fight I couldn't possible win…

As if to prove it, a hand suddenly smacked the back of my head. I fell into the mud, my vision darkening and sinking into a deep, lonely abyss…

I felt him land on top of me just before I lost consciousness…

-_-

"How," cried a small voice. 

I awoke but kept my eyes closed, unaware of where I was or—heck, I was unaware. 

The voice kept talking. "How did she do it? And why? Is it my fault? For killing Xynan, for chopping his ass in half…

The voice belonged to Brink. I partially opened my eyes. We were in a car, driving through Miami. He was leaning on his steering wheel, crying as he drove…I knew right off that he was on the brink of dying. He was fragile, weak. My murdering his friends didn't make his life any easier… I listened to him speak to himself. "She killed them like a professional…she's so small…"

He seemed to be crying out to someone. In need of something. 

"She killed them," he said again…then with sudden anger and volume he yelled, "WHY DID YOU LET THEM DIE?! TELL ME NOW!" He broke down, crying hard. 

He's crying out to God, I realized a few seconds later. I remembered him quoted two of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not take revenge… He probable planned on doing both to me…if not a very disturbing imitation of Shawn. I'm gonna die…just like the people I killed today… "YOU KILLED THEM," Brink screamed again. "WHY?"

He went through an intersection…suddenly, halfway through the intersection he swerved right, toward a telephone pole. Bail!, instinct screamed.

I followed its advice. I opened the door and moved to jump out when—caught! I had a seat belt on! I frantically pushed on the button but it was jammed. The pedal was flat on the floor, Brink crying and screaming to God and me frantically trying to get away. Knowing the button wouldn't give way; I grabbed a baseball bat from the floor in front of my seat and smashed the windshield in front of me. 

"It's my turn to die," Brink said quietly. He looked over at me, his eyes showing surprise but it registered slowly…then he said, "And **your** turn too." I screamed at the seat belt, trying to free myself.

A couple more seconds and I would be dead; the car I'm in would be totaled. I mashed down the seat belt button as hard as I could and it came off. I whipped it around my head, turned my body to jump out of the car and—

EEEEEEERRRRRRRR!!!!! SCRRREEEECCHH!!!! CRASH!

I flew from the vehicle, out through the front. The sidewalk flew up fast but a figure suddenly stepped out in front and—I smashed into another human and a half-second later we both tumbled and rolled onto the sidewalk. I heard someone scream and metal wrenching and, quite suddenly, something hit my head and I started seeing stars…

I struggled to hold my consciousness and I did…for a few more seconds. I slowly got up to my hands and knees and looked around. People were all staring at me or more likely, my blood-soaked shoulder. I started crying and someone beside, on the sidewalk said in a comforting voice, "It's all right, don't be afraid…it's over…"

And I collapsed.

-_-

I woke up in a soft bed.

My sense on full alert, I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in what seemed like a room out of a JC Penney catalog. An ornate desk, curtains over a small window and I was lying in a queen-size bed. What the…? I started to get up but my shoulder yelled at me in pain. I looked at it and saw that it was bandaged up.

I glanced at my other wounds. They were all taken care of. Where am I?? I got up, careful to move my arm as little as possible. I exited the room and entered a small kitchen. After studying the kitchen for a minute, I left that room and walked into a dining room. Everything was clean, nothing dusty but not untouched either.

Through the dining room was a living room where a somewhat large man was nursing…ouch. There wasn't any skin on his left side, over his ribs. Just flesh, hanging in ribbons. I started to gag but forced myself to watch him, unmoving and studying his every move. He looked gentle but…there was something…

He looked up and his eyes brightened. "So! You're finally awake!"

I frowned. "Who are you," I asked harshly, too harshly. 

He nodded his head thoughtfully. "Not a kidder, huh? Oh well. I am Atone Malden. I caught you this morning when you flew out of that car."

My eyes widened. "You **caught** me?"

He nodded. "Oh yes; I saved you life."

****

Author's Note

Sorry it's been so long people. Finals have been coming up and they are really killing me (especially math) and I've been busy writing 6th Matrix. I'll see ya'!~

**__**

CV


	14. Atone

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 14

Huh?

'Atone' must've seen the shock/confusion on my face. He smiled again and said, "You were thrown from the vehicle you were in. You're a very smart girl, you know. I saw you bust out the windshield—," he paused, then leaned forward and asked, "Did you know you were going to fly out of the vehicle?" 

I stepped back, shaking my head. "No—no, of course not…I—I simply—''

He sighed and leaned back into his chair. "Damn. Oh well…where are your parents?"

"I have none," I replied, no emotion or fear in my voice.

"Okay…um…do you have any guardians?"

"No."

He frowned and studied me. "Where's your home?"

"What home?"

His eyes widened. "Ah-ha! So you're a runaway, eh? Didn't think so, after all, you are young…" I didn't say anything. This guy was an idiot. He acted as if he knew everything about me just because he saved my screwed up life. Bullshit. 

"I'm not a damn runaway. I don't have parents. I don't have a home. I'm alone and the fact that I've been **shot** at, **molested** and the fact that I've watched the one person that I've cared about since my parents death is dead, I don't really care what you say or do…and a few things that some people have done to me I've done right back. I've **killed**, Atone. Four people on the day that the car wrecked. You won't be any different."

Atone nodded and seemed to study me again. "Well, I hope that that voice in the back of my head is also in your head." I frowned and he glanced thoughtfully at the wall, then turned back to me and said, "Everyone has a—''

"Do **NOT** give me that 'conscious' crap. It's not true. The only voices I've heard have told me to pull the trigger…and I listened."

Atone closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Then let me help, let me—''

"**No.**" I said it quietly, threateningly. 

He sighed. "Okay. You may stay here as long as you want or need. I will supply you with food, a bed…a home." 

I hesitated…I was unsure. This man **seemed** like a good person. A nosy one, but a good person. Like Xynan. NO, I mentally yelled at myself. Xynan was a gang member, not anyone special. He was chopped in half and…but he offered me a home… Slowly, my own thoughts betrayed me. Then they turned back and said Xynan was bad, then they turned around and gave reasons as to how Xynan was a good person…so was he? Or could you be both?

Could you be a good **and** bad person? A little of both…So many questions but not enough answers… I looked up at Atone and studied him carefully. He had a small belly, he was short. Nothing like Xynan. He reminded me of a teacher at school. The teacher was the nicest one but he didn't look good at all. 

Yes. I would stay here for maybe four—

"Since you'll be here for awhile, I think I might need to know your name…so, uh, what's you name?"

I thought for a second. Did he…read my mind? I then considered telling him my real name, then realized that that name was gone, abolished. "Asazi," I replied.

His eyes widened. "Well, Asazi, welcome to my humble home. I live, as you can see, in a nice neighborhood, no one here to disturb you as long as you're here…there are a few rules…" 

He started telling me a bunch of bullshit about rules and…I started getting tired…suddenly, "—I can see you're tired," he said, then, "Why don't we just go over this stuff tomorrow, eh? You, I think we both know, could use some rest."

I nodded, rubbed my eyes and walked back into the room I had awaken in. I hit the bed and was asleep a few seconds later…

-_-

Sunlight streamed through the windows when I awoke. I—voices! Two…no, three—four…four. Four voices. One was Atone's…and the other three were younger, more brutal sounding…

I got up and walked over to the door, pressing my ear against it. It was a very thick, solid wood door so I could make out bits and pieces of the conversation.

"So—named Brink. He was—guy, a leader…it seems he died—sterday, a—with him. We need this little girl." My head came crashing down, my mind swimming in confusion. Who's out there and how did they even know there was someone with Brink? I killed everyone there and Brink died so how could they possible know? Too many questions and too little time to answer them. I had to get out. 

Atone's voice! "I **do** recall a girl at the scene…," temporary silence, "…and I believe that she flew out of the vehicle and a man scooped her up and took off with her." He's gonna turn me in to them! He's a—

Atone's voice continued. "I don't recall what the man looked like. The scene was so sudden…so very dreadful…I fear for the girls' safety…"

One of the younger man's voices…they were obviously part of Brink's gang. Part of 'Miami United' or whatever Brink had said before Xynan was killed. I smiled as I recalled what Xynan said: "Miami United? What the hell kinda name is that…"

Well…it was something like that. What gang were Xynan and Asazi with? Something like 'New World' or other…I frowned. Maybe—

"WELL MAYBE WE SHOULD LOOK AROUND TO MAKE SURE," one of the gang people suddenly yelled. A half-second later there was a bang, not a gunshot but a crash of furniture falling and crashing around. A few seconds later it stopped and the same man's voice said, this time calmer but out of breath, "We know you have her. We watched you take her away from us. She killed four of our people."

Atone's voice came into the picture. "My God! That little girl has…**killed**?"

I smiled. You had to admire Atone. He sounded honest but he knew I had killed—I told him. He was brave too. Like I said, you had to admire Atone.

"Yes," replied the leader of the three-man group. "She killed four of our people. They were all rookies. In fact, for two of them, it was there first time to even pick up a damn gun…Brink thought that it would be a good target practice…guess he got a little more than a screaming, moving target."

Silence. The fact that a six-year-old girl, about to be seven, killed four young adults is a little on the wild side…but certainly not impossible. No wonder I won that fight—**almost** won the fight. They were rookies. I had hunted with Grandpa last year so I did have a little experience…they didn't. No wonder… More silence. No one spoke for awhile; their own thoughts probably on me or their dead friends…the ones I killed…

"We know you have the girl, somewhere. You—and maybe even her—aren't dumb enough to leave her here the day after she kills people so we'll be back. And next time you might as well have a will ready." With that weak, pretty damn pathetic threat, the little group left. I waited until I heard them get into their cars, slam the doors and drive off…and then I waited for a few more minutes.

When I left 'my' room, Atone was closing all the window blinds. Wouldn't blame him. The second those assholes see me walking around, they raid, I die, Atone dies and they're a supposedly happy bunch.

But killing doesn't make a thing better. How could it? I mean, you kill someone that somebody else loves…creating a whole sphere and pattern of love, hate and revenge because then the person that loved the person that you killed will come after you and, of course, somebody loves you and…yep…Earth is just one big fucking ray of sunshine. 

But then again, nobody's perfect. Brink certainly wasn't. Atone isn't—most likely anyway…I'm not. Never will be, either. I've already killed, cursed…been cursed at, been cruelly touched, and many other things that I will never, **EVER**, forget.

Atone noticed my presence and smiled. "We had visitors," and gestured toward an overturned table and couch. 

I nodded. "Yeah, I, uh, listened with interest…" Say it…might as well… "Thanks."

Atone stopped what he was doing and gave a look that almost asked, "Emotion?" 

I helped him out with fixing up the room. The people made quite a mess. Most of the time I was quietly wrapped in thought. I did only what he told me too and only talked when he asked me something. I wanted to think…to close my eyes and think about the past few days…the past…week? How long has it been since my parents died? A day? A week? 

I shrugged. It shouldn't matter. They're gone, Xynan's gone…and judging by today's performance, Atone will be dead soon too…the people that tried to kill me are dead, Shawn is dead…

It suddenly occurred to me. The question that I would ponder over for the years to come. Do I leave death everywhere I go? Is death to follow me in my wake everywhere I go? Will everyone I meet **die** because of Shawn, Xynan and Brink? Will the people I befriend die because of a car wreck two thousand miles away…or is it me? Just my talent?

After helping Atone fix his furniture, he said, "Looks like you're in deep thought." At first, I didn't even here him. It took a few seconds to realize he had spoken. "Huh?"

He smiled and repeated what he had said. 

I looked at the floor, then up into his eyes. "You're going to die," I said. 

Atone's eyebrows shot up and he said with a laugh, "Hopefully not by your hand…" Seeing that I wasn't laughing with him, he said, "Asazi, I know that that gang is going to be back tonight. I won't be here but there is a park a few blocks away. I want you to go there through my backyard. Hide way up high in a tree, okay?" His face was somber, honest. And sad. "I'm going to be gone for the night so I won't have any…uh…unpleasant encounters with the people you seem to know."

I nodded, silent. Then I turned toward the back door and started toward it. 

"Hold up Asazi," Atone suddenly said. "Let me get you a backpack with some food and things, just in case I'm gone for a few days. Judging by how you've killed a few people, I think that if I gave you food and water for…say…three days that you would make it."

"Where will I stay," I asked.

He went into the kitchen and said, "The Park. You can sleep in a tree. Don't worry; there are no ants or nasty critters in most of the trees. Just avoid the ones with the sticky stuff on them." He snickered as he made a whole bunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He made fifteen of them, then got into his fridge and pulled out ten bottles of water. "This enough?"

I greedily nodded. It was more than I had ate the in the whole since my parents were gone…my parents… I angrily shook the thought from my head. 

Atone put the sandwiches and waters inside a backpack from his room and strapped it onto my back. "Take care now," he said. He seemed touched, moved by my role in his life. What had I done? I had gotten his house ransacked, his life suddenly ruined by gangs and he was wasting all his food on me. What good had I done? 

A few minutes later I left his house through the back door. I went through some bushes and a few blocks of people's backyards. Some dogs barked at me but I ignored them.

Eventually, I reached the park. It was beautiful. Trees with pink flowers everywhere, a few kids running around here and there, a couple basketball and tennis courts and a whole grove of tall trees. I took a deep breath, enjoying the first sight of peacefulness since the rainy day at the beach…suddenly my world flipped upside down when I noticed three men looking at me thoughtfully…as if they were considering…

They were leaning on a car, probably theirs, a few hundred feet away. But they were definitely looking right at me. They were, without a doubt, the men that were at Atone's house this morning—the point proved when they started walking toward me…hurriedly…

I turned to run and smashed into a wall. I fell back and looked up. Nope. Not a wall. A huge Chinese man, his arms wider than my body…he stared at me and grunted.

I was captured.


	15. More Bloodshed

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 15

Captured. The gang had me less than an hour after I had left Atone's…captured.

The big Chinese man stared down at me. "Humph," he said—grunted. The three guys were rushing toward me and—

I wasn't captured. The big Chinese man in front of me was just using his size to scare the hell outta me so I wouldn't get any ideas until the three guys came and got me. Well, I got an idea. 

I shot my left foot up to pop him in his privates but he was so fast! His hands came down, caught my foot, then spun me around and picked me up. My face was hanging down in front of his. "Little girl don't mess with China man. Little girl die like others yesterday." I nodded and he threw me back against a tree. For the first time I noticed that I was sore…from what I didn't know. Maybe just the shear adrenaline rushing through your veins can make you sore. I don't know.

The China man's point was made. He can kick my ass like I did to four other people yesterday. Point made and very strongly. 

I got to my feet and looked toward the three men jogging toward us. They were less than a hundred feet from me now. We, the China man and I, waited patiently for the fiends to come. When they got to us, one of them spoke and I recognized the voice as the leader who trashed Atone's house earlier today. "About time. So tell me…what's your name?"

"Asazi."

He laughed at me. Then got down in my face. "Asazi huh…well, 'Asazi', you're gonna go down the same path **the** Asazi took: the wrong one. What makes you wrong? The fact that you crossed us, you crossed every gang in Miami…they're all talking about you right now. Someone was watching you fight those idiots Brink took with him… Whoever it was spread the word around town that there was a little six-year-old girl running around that could shoot like…like…oh hell, I don't know."

I stared at his eyes. They were cold, greedy, lustful…basically evil. But not like Brink's evil. His was more of a…innocent evil? Could that be possible? Perhaps **he** went down the wrong path, perhaps **he** doesn't want to be a gang member…he's just doing it for the money or the attention or the adrenaline of battle… He wasn't innocently evil. He was just doing things that he didn't want to do. No doubt that was a weak point…I could probably use it later.

My eyes blinked downward for half a second. I noticed the butt of a gun sticking out of his left suit pocket. He wasn't looking at me so he didn't notice the fact that I saw it. 

Then he suddenly started to rise. **NOW!** I reached in with surprising speed, pulled out the gun, aimed and fired into the man's chest. He cried out as he flew back. The two other people were shocked but a second later they started to pull out theirs. I, like before, used that second. BLAM! BLAM! They both went down spinning. 

"Little girl die now!"

The Chinese man! I forgot—

POW! A backhand hit me in the back of the head. I flew forward, stumbled and fell. The gun was gone from my hands…where'd it go?? I frantically searched for it as the Chinese man happily walked toward me. There! The gun was six feet to my right…and walking by it was the big Chinese man. 

I jumped to my feet and turned to run but he was suddenly right behind me! He grabbed my hair and whipped me back onto the ground. "I warned you. Little girl die now. She kill two other people. Little girl die now." 

Two? One was still alive? My thoughts were interrupted as the Chinese man picked me up and threw a good ten yards—into a tree. I hit and rolled back onto a soft ground…a body! I jumped back, a small, hoarse cry escaping from my throat. It was one of the side guys. His eyes were open, a gun in his hand…he looked dead.

I reached over and tried to pull the gun from his hand when his other hand hit in the side of the head. He was the one that was still alive! Dammit! 

I rolled to my left and jumped up and landed on his chest. He couldn't get up; I had shot him in the chest and the bullet might've hit his vertebrae. He raised the gun but I simply kicked it out of his hand. He cried from the pain, tried to move but immediately stopped. He started whispering something but went after the gun. 

The Chinese man was running toward me! I dove the gun, got it, raised it and fired at the oncoming Chinese man. Blood blew out from behind him. But he didn't stop running toward me. He kept going so I shot again…then again, then again…the man fell to the ground. His breathing was hoarse and a few seconds later there was no breathing…

I was breathing fast. I had killed four more people. Out of self-defense, yes. But I basically duplicated what I did the say before; killed. I took a deep breath. It was over again. The rush, the thrill, the adrenaline. I got up and looked around. There were sirens in the distance, obviously screeching and screaming their way toward us…me. I put the gun I had just used in my backpack and left the scene. I walked the couple hundred yards to the huge grove of trees, climbed one and sat there, watching the police come to the scene to find four mysteriously dead people…

I smiled as I watched the cops investigate the scene. I was too far for anyone to notice me, especially since I was up in a tree surrounded by leafs. I found a thick branch and leaned on the stem of the tree. I was exhausted and sore. My life was a mess…hold on. What life?

I've been screwed since the car accident. There isn't anymore life for me. For some unknown reason, thoughts of my seventh birthday popped into my head. I was to be seven soon. I didn't know when—just knew it was coming soon. Soon…perhaps it was today. Was it?

After a few minutes of watching the cops swarm around the crime scene, I fell asleep, exhaustion completely taking me over…

-_-

I awoke. I wasn't in a tree. I was on the beach. It was nighttime, a half-moon high above my head, shining the midnight skies. Where was I? How'd I get here?

I noticed two figures down the beach. Walking toward me. I recognized one of them just by the way he walked…it was Xynan. Xynan? What the—how—? What was going on?

Fear began to mask over me. I didn't know what was going on. Where was Atone? 

The two figures got close enough to where I could make out the other one. It was Brink. Brink the killer, the murderer, the luster, the just-plain asshole. They were talking to each other. Not fighting…unusual? Maybe, maybe not. 

Then Xynan looked up at me with his nice, compassionate look…it **was** compassionate. **Was** compassionate until he said, "Why'd you kill Brink's friends, girl? Why'd you do it? Why'd you let me die as Brink cut me in half…what's your problem? Have you no courage, no honor?" 

I frowned. This wasn't real. Brink and Xynan? No. I looked out at the ocean and to my surprise, it wasn't moving. The sound of the waves crashing onto shore continued but the ocean didn't move. Not a drop of water moved around. 

What's going—a dream. It's a dream.

The conclusion was obvious…now I just had to survive the dream. I turned around and started running away from the two fakes, the two unreal, **dead** people. POW! Someone jumped on top of me and sent me crashing into the sand. The yellow dirt filled my mouth and I coughed with disgust. I rolled over and looked up to see Xynan towering over me.

Xynan had jumped me. Brink was too far away to have done it and get back there. Xynan…traitor. 

He spoke again. "You wanna no something, girl. Shawn never meant to hurt you; he was just hungry. Hungry for…" He paused.

****

"You."

My eyes widened as Xynan continued. "But he died before he could actually do anything to you…did you know that?" I shook my head no. He had done more than enough to me. Xynan continued, "I think that I'll take over where your **Uncle** Shawn left off." Xynan's compassionate face, his soft, warm face suddenly turned evil, cold…like Brink's.

I screamed and started to get to my feet but Xynan grabbed by the shirt and shoved me back to the ground…I screamed again but it didn't make any difference. Brink walked over and started doing to me exactly, **exactly** what Shawn had done to me…

-_-

I woke up shaking. I wasn't in the tree anymore. I was on the ground, lying beside a tree. I looked at my left arm and saw that at least half of it was purple from bruises. I had fallen out of the tree. I looked up and saw my backpack hanging on one of the branches. 

It was nighttime. The **half-moon**—I shivered—was out and clouds were coming in from the southeast. The clouds didn't look friendly…they were swirling around. Slowly. I didn't see it first but as I watched for another few minutes, they were definitely swirling around. A big storm, I realized. A **very** big storm. I jumped back into the tree, climbing up to where I had slept earlier. I estimated it to be around midnight…

When I reached my backpack I pulled out a sandwich and a water bottle and hungrily consumed them both. I ate another sandwich and left the backpack hanging on a branch. I was still tired but scared at the same time. 

Would another dream come? Is Xynan to haunt me the rest of his life? Or is Shawn? That wasn't Xynan in my dream. That was Shawn pretending to be Xynan…a good pretender. But why? What was the point of the dream, if there was one? And what the hell is a dream anyway? I didn't know, and probably never would. Does anybody else know what a dream is? 

A dream…a dream…

I got up and carefully pulled out leaves to make a little hole so I could watch the oncoming storm. It was closer now. Dangerously closely…I feared that I wouldn't survive it…but what I feared more is the fact that I didn't care about whether or not I would survive it…which basically meant I didn't care whether or not I lived…

Didn't care about my own life.

After studying my own thoughts I realized that many people probably wouldn't care either. They probably would've committed suicide by now…but I haven't. 

I now had one goal in life. 

That one goal could make a huge difference.

My goal was to survive. To survive everything that Brink was a part. Everything that the Chinese man was a part of…to survive my life. 

Hopefully I would…hopefully…

****

Author's Note

Well…this chapter, in my opinion, is kinda weak but I've been very tired lately. I'm glad you all are enjoying my fic and I plan on making it to chapter 21 before I go to camp. Oh, and I have a teensy-weensy-little request to make…could you tell me **why** you like this story so much? In your next review (**if** you do review it, which would most appreciated) just tell me why you like it and, if you want or have the time, give me a little constructive criticism. I would really appreciate it and I thank for what you've already done for this story and me…(didn't that sound sappy…)


	16. Nemesis

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 16

I had fallen asleep to my thoughts and had awakened in a stormy hell. Literally. 

The wind was blowing so hard that it was starting to push my body off of the branch. The rain pouring down was actually hurting me; the wind and gravity combined cause pain to feel like hail. I was in a storm that was so forceful that it was starting to push me out of the tree. 

There was a sudden gust of wind and I fell! CRACK! I landed on my back, on another branch. I felt it pop and there was a sudden, agonizing pain. "AAA," I cried out. I started slipping again—NO! I fell, my arms shooting out to grab any kind of—

BAM! 

I hit the ground, strong pain forming all over me. I could hear the crashing waves from some beach that must've been nearby, I could the screaming wind… The hard, thick rain gusted in and out—it got a little calmer, then came on even stronger, then got a little calmer…then got stronger!!!! The flashing lightning happened every three or four seconds. It was bright and lit the park like day.

It was not fun. I had to get out of here. Had to leave. I had food and water, I had—

The backpack! Where'd the backpack go?! I frantically looked around but I couldn't see it. Where'd it go? Did it— I looked up and a flicker of bright lightning revealed my backpack, hanging on a small limb. Uh oh. I jumped up part of the tree and grabbed a hold of the lowest branch. I had to get my backpack. 

I started swinging my legs back and forth, trying to get some height so they could swing up and latch onto another branch. Back and forth, back and forth, back and—

"AAA," I screamed as I slipped from the wet branch. I crashed onto the ground, my knee hitting a sharp rock. Pain filled my leg and I looked down at it. A few seconds later a flash of lightning appeared and I saw blood all over my knee. 

Climbing that tree was insane in this weather. 

The wind howled at me, literally screaming at me with no words. And that's when it began. When I stopped for a second and listened to the wind. I looked over at one of the trees and saw rain fly by it—a face! I frowned and looked closer—it was gone. What the hell was that? I rested on the muddy ground and watched the pouring rain fall towards the ground… 

No more faces…there! I saw it and a mouth opened and I heard a whisper…, "Where are you?" Chills came over me and goose bumps popped up on my skin. The face disappeared as quickly as it came. I frantically looked around, searching for the whispers. 

I looked to my left…no face. I looked to my right, at the tree and—

At the trunk of the tree, some roots twisted around to form a small, hand-size face. "Are you there," it whispered and then disappeared quite suddenly. 

"I'M HERE," I screamed into the air. "WHAT ARE YOU?" 

Another face formed in the rain and whispered, "Your nemesis."

Nemesis? What's a 'nemesis?

"An enemy," came another whisper. I whirled around and saw a face disappearing into the cold, hard rain. "**Your** enemy," it came again. The whispers scared me. 

I have an enemy that moves in and out of rain and trees?

My breathing started to go fast, my heart began to race. I searched for another face but there were none. Suddenly I saw one pouring by me. It whispered, "I'm coming."

I screamed and stood up but fell right back down. My knee…the pain. The ground was mud, the water wasn't soaking into the ground and there were a few inches of mud before you could actually feel somewhat solid dirt. My left leg slipped and my face fell into the mud, swallowing some mud as my teeth sank into my own tongue. How did I fall? There—the nemesis.

I looked up and saw a face of rain pouring down toward me it said, "Your seventh birthday—I'm coming to **take** you." The face melted away. I trembled with fear. Not read-the-horror-book fear…solid, bone-clenching fear. 

My knee…the pain. My eyes…the fear. My life…the hell. 

And suddenly, everything went dark……

-_-

I woke up and looked around. My heart was beating fast…but there was no pain in my knee. I looked down at it and in the pale moonlight and saw skin. No blood, no wound. I was in the tree, my backpack still on my back. No chills or goose bumps…

A dream. It was a dream. No, not a dream…a nightmare worse than any nightmare I've ever had. But like all dreams and nightmares, it meant something. Or did it? 

My seventh birthday? Now that I think about it, that's pretty soon…but when exactly is it? I shook my head, trying to remember…I couldn't. I couldn't remember my own birth date. I had forgotten already. 

I looked through the leaves and saw that the storm that had been coming toward me was still coming toward me… But it was still pretty far. I must've only been asleep for a few minutes…I remembered me falling out of the wet, slippery tree in my dream…

I better not be in the tree when this storm comes… I climbed down, making sure my backpack was still on my back and that I wouldn't fall. 

When I reached the ground I carefully watched my step to make sure I didn't fall on any sharp rocks. I don't know if the dream was a prediction or just a shear nightmare that scared me halfway out of the tree. But it doesn't hurt to be cautious…

Nemesis.

The 'thing' in my dream had said it was my enemy. No doubt it was evil—if it existed. No, it was a dream; there are no such things as faces that move in and out of the rain like that. They weren't face faces, with hair and eye color; the faces that were made out of the rain with one expression: coldness. The face showed no fear in its watery eyebrows; no fear was on its face at all. Only coldness, like it was enjoying my pain and screaming with smiling. Like Brink. 

I shivered and glanced back at the storm. It was coming, the clouds swirling and beginning to cover up the moon. I remembered seeing these storms on the news…

Me and my mom used to watch the news every now and then. One time it talked about these huge storms that had strong winds and ferocious rain and nasty floods… I snapped my fingers, trying to think of the name of them… **Hurricane!** That was it…the weatherman also said that people died in hurricanes, especially when not in a safe place **inside**…

I had nowhere to go…a shelter? Were there any shelters in Miami, home of the beach?

Of course there is! There's gotta be a hurricane shelter somewhere around here. I left the park and started jogging around town. I was in a nice neighborhood; there had to be a storm shelter somewhere. 

The wind slowly began to pick up and sped up a little more…

I glanced up toward the skies. The moon was gone now, dark clouds moving in on Miami, the clouds swirling slowly in a circle. 

I started running down the streets, looking for a big building that might be a shelter. After a few more minutes of running, I stopped out of breath and discouraged. I was also beginning to panic. "HELP," I cried out. Surely someone was hiding in their home or something like that… "HELP," I yelled again. I ran down two more blocks and screamed the word again…

Nothing. No answer, no reply, no lights suddenly flickering on…I was alone and about to die. "**NO**," I shouted. "I won't let this storm get the best of **me.**" My will to survive returned and with renewed courage I walked up to a house and thought, if they don't want to let me in, I'll **make** my way in.

I looked around and saw a water hose attached to the house. I picked up and screwed on a nearby metal sprinkler. Weighing it in my hands I smiled. This'll certainly work. I walked up to a shorter window and slung the metal sprinkler at it. The window came down! CRASH! The glass fell inside of the house so I made mental note to watch my step once inside. 

I tested the hose and it was stuck. Good, I thought and smiled again. I was too short; the window was a little taller than me. I used the hose to pull myself up through the window. I landed on a soft chair that was covered with shards of glass. I carefully stepped off of it and saw the metal sprinkler had gotten stuck on a leg of the chair. 

I started walking through the house, looking for a room without windows or anything that might break and hurt me…I checked all the rooms with open doors first, then started—carefully—going into the rooms in which the doors had been closed. I had checked all the rooms in the house except one in the back. There were no people in the house—so far—and no first aid kits either.

And all the rooms I'd been in had had windows in them. 

I was standing ten feet down a hallway from the door when I thought twice about opening. There might be some people in there…and they might think I'm a prowler or something… I went back into the house's very nice kitchen, found a cutting board that I could use as a shield and went back to the hallway. 

I wanted a shield because somebody might, just might, be waiting for me. 

I slowly stepped up to the door, very quietly and very nervously… Just do it fast…

Holding the cutting board with one hand, I reached out and whipped the door open with the other hand and—

**WHAP!** Something crashed down onto my head and everything went black…my last thought was, so much for a shield…

-_-

It was raining. The pouring hard rain stinging my face. I was awake and I was lying down next to a tree. A very familiar tree. A flash of lightning! A whirlwind of the echoing howls of the wind…the hurricane. 

How'd I get back I here? I moved my leg but a sharp pain shot up it. "OW," I cried out and looked down at it. With another lightning bolt, I saw it. I was bleeding, a gash in my knee…I had fallen on a sharp rock and—

Oh no.

I looked up and waited for lightning. When it came, I saw my backpack up in the tree, hanging on a little branch. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no…the dream with the faces wasn't a dream…me busting into the house was a dream…and that means that…

Nemesis existed. 

Fear overwhelmed me for a few seconds…I started looking around for the faces in the rain, hoping that they wouldn't come but fearing, almost knowing that they would return. Nemesis…**what** was he? 

I eventually took deep breaths and blinked my eyes a few times…oh boy…dreams in dreams upon reality. I was now scared. Very scared. I was alone and I couldn't go anywhere. The sharp, stinging rain pounded onto my face…I was in a hurricane, wounded with mud seeping into my bleeding knee…I was weary, exhausted. My back hurt because the fall through something out of line… 

And because of it all, the stress, the blood…Nemesis…I fell asleep…


	17. The Rentons

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 17

I was on a hard floor. I kept my eyes shut even though I wanted to know where I was. I could hear the wind howling but it wasn't near me…it was muffled. I could hear the rain pouring but I couldn't feel it…I was inside…a house?

The house I broke into! 

So that wasn't a dream but…what? What's going on? What's happening to me? I can't tell the difference between reality and a dream? Am I dreaming now? 

I decided to find out and opened my eyes. It was dark but there was a small plug-in lamp in one corner of the room I was in. There were two kids, a woman, probably their mother, and a man peering out a small window. There were wooden pillars that supported the ceiling above us all around the room and there was a stair case at the opposite end of the room…I was the house's basement. 

I moved my head a little and pain flooded it. I brought a hand up and gently touched my forehead; a deep pain came and I felt a bruise there. The man, the father, looked down at me and whispered, "You okay there?"

I glanced back at the kids to see that they were sleeping on their mother's lap. I didn't notice that at first because I eyes weren't adjusted to the dim light. 

I looked back at the man and nodded 'yes'. 

He smiled a graceful smile and crouched down, away from the window and closer to me. "We heard your footsteps and the window shatter and thought there was a burglar in our home. I was ready for you when you opened the door and when you did, I brought down that—," he pointed to a piece of hollow wood, "—on your head. I didn't see who you were, I just knocked you out so that no one would get hurt…but when I saw it was a little girl, I was…surprised."

I nodded a little; my head was starting to get a little less sensitive. 

"So…I guess I'm sorry that I hurt you," the man continued, then offered his hand and said, "I'm Mr. Renton. What's your name?"

I hesitated, not knowing what to think about this person. I could see the mother watching us out of the corner of my eye…I didn't know what to make of it. Then a thought came to me and it all made sense. You're basically in a shelter. You're safe for now.

I smiled a little and took the man's hand in a handshake and whispered, "Sorry I broke your window. I couldn't find a shelter and no one would let me in. I called for help a few times but no one opened their doors or even turned on a light to show that they heard me."

He nodded and replied, "That's because most people either aren't home or are in their storm shelters, hiding from the storm. They probably couldn't even hear you over all this wind."

That made sense. "Can I…stay—here, until the storm leaves?"

Here it comes, the moment of truth. Could I stay? Would they kick me out of their house for breaking into it?

"Of course you can stay. You might get killed if you go back out there."

I breathed a sigh of relief and then things went a little downhill…

"So why aren't you at home right now? I mean, where are your parents," the man, Mr. Renton asked. We were both still whispering so we wouldn't wake up the other two kids. 

I started to answer but my voice quit. I couldn't speak for a second. "I—my parents are dead." 

Mr. Renton looked down at the floor and said, "I'm sorry." 

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. I just…don't think about them anymore. That's all. Too much has happened since they died and I don't want to remember my life before they…passed away and left me."

Mr. Renton digested that for a second and said, "You know…people don't die for nothing. They die for a purpose, for a reason. I'm sure that when they died that…God had a plan for you and a stronger purpose in your life but to get there and to be able to do that you have to be strong and—''

"Bullshit," I said, cutting him off. Anger suddenly flowed through me. "If there even is a God, why'd he take away **my** life, why'd he kill **my** parents and not someone else's…why'd he make **me** kill them, why did he even bother with my life and my family…why does he even bother with anyone's family…?" Tears came to my eyes but I didn't let them flow out. 

Mr. Renton looked back down at the floor and said, "I'm sorry…"

The mother, who had watched and probably heard the whole thing, carefully got up, moving the kid's over a little and walked over to where I was. "What's your name," she asked me. 

I don't know how to describe what I felt. I was angry because I had finally realized who had killed my parents and I was angry at the fact that this 'Mr. Renton' was trying to tell me that God was the good guy…and then I felt warmth. Perhaps it was her voice or his compassion…whatever it was, I felt safe, secure. I felt…safe, for the first time since their death…since my parents died…

I was secure…but I wasn't healed. Brink's gang would be back. The people that tried to get me in the park said that all of Miami's criminal underworld had been talking about me…I wasn't secure…but I was safe for a little while. 

"What's your name," she asked again. 

"Asazi," I replied. 

She smiled as a flash of lightning lit the room through the little basement window. "I'm Mrs. Renton…you have an interesting name. Is it your actual name?"

How'd she know? I looked at Mr. Renton to find him smiling and he said, "She's good at that. She can sometimes tell the difference between fact and fiction right off." 

Fear sunk into me. She can read my mind? Mr. Renton must've seen the fear on my face and he started laughing quietly. "No, no…it's not like that," he said in between laughs…, "It's one of her **gifts**."

I blinked.

He frowned as if trying to find the right words but Mrs. Renton saved him. "It's one of my **talents**." 

"You can **read my mind**," I asked incredulously. She laughed and said, "No…but sometimes I just know when you're telling the truth and when you're not."

"Oh," I said…I was kind of at a loss of words. 

"So who's name is that, 'Asazi'," she asked again, a smiled on her face. 

"It was…it was…someone I knew for a short time…she…she's **dead** now and I thought that—," my voice choked again, "—I thought that I should take her name."

Mrs. Renton smiled again and said, "Well I think you can stay with us until this storm dies…then I'll take you home, okay?" 

Mr. Renton tried to get her attention but the she didn't catch it. "Where do your parents live?"

Mr. Renton dropped his hand and his head sagged a little…I started crying. I couldn't help it anymore. My parents were **dead**, Xynan and Asazi are **dead**…Atone would probably get killed once the gangs found him and asked him about my whereabouts…everyone I fucking know or like **dies**…and it's **my fault…**

"Ssshhh," Mrs. Renton quietly said, gently pulling her hand through my hair. I found myself I on her lap, my tears soaking into her jeans. "It's not your fault…it's gonna be okay…" 

I kept crying, finally unleashing my sadness and grief into this complete and utter stranger that could tell when I lie and I don't…I cried and cried and cried with storm outside and with a nice family that picked me up and didn't even know me…I cried.

There is love on the planet, I realized…and kept crying until all went black and I slept…

-_-

When I woke up, I was lying down on the floor, two kids nearby me, talking and laughing quietly. Earlier I hadn't really paid much attention to them but I decided to study them for a few minutes.

One girl and one boy, both somewhat young…they were probably two or three years older than me. I heard them say the other's name a few times; the boy's name was Jake and the girl's name was Kiara. They were playing with a plastic army man set. Since they were sitting so close to the little lamp, I could make out what they looked like too. The girl had brown hair that went down a few inches past her shoulders and the boy had black hair that was ruffled and messed up. 

They laughed and smiled and played together as if they weren't a brother and sister. So they are a little grown up, I thought and laughed to myself. They hadn't noticed my awakening so I sat up…they looked at me and the boy said, "You wanna play?" Not wanting to play or wanting to hurt their feelings I said, "No, not right now. Maybe later though."

Army men. I don't think so. I used to love to play in sandboxes and little pools. Used to…now they seem…distant, a memory. They aren't real anymore…maybe that's what happens when you kill someone. **You** die too, your heart and mind fade and you can't really enjoy anything…

They started playing with each other again. I watched for a few more seconds and then stood up and looked around. The mother and father were standing by the window, looking out it with worried looks on their faces. I could tell they were nervous…nervous about whatever they were both looking at. I walked over to them and said, "What's wrong?"

Mr. Renton jumped a little. I had startled him…

Mrs. Renton picked me up under the armpits and let me look through the window. There was a tree leaning toward the house, right toward the basement window. A fort was in it but it was bent and messed up…

"The tree might fall on the house," Mr. Renton said. "If that happens…well, uh…we shouldn't be here when it does." 

Mrs. Renton put me down and I looked at Mr. Renton and said, "But that means going out into the storm." 

He sighed and nodded, "Yes, it does. That tree is taller and longer than the house is…if it lands on the house it'll probably bring the whole roof down with it…"

"I think we should leave now," Mrs. Renton said, her voice slightly tinted with a tinge of fear. Mr. Renton nodded in agreement and asked, "Should we take the car or just walk?" 

Mrs. Renton gave him a 'are you stupid' look. "The roads are probably flooded, Tom. We need to get out of here and we have to do it on foot…"

The howling wind suddenly died down and the rain stopped. Mr. and Mrs. Renton looked at each other, confused looks on their faces. Then Mr. Renton said, "The eye of the storm…the hurricane has swung up and eastward…" Mrs. Renton walked over to a corner of the room and pulled out a small radio from the darkness.

She walked over to an outlet and plugged it in…after a few minutes of tuning, she picked up a weatherman. "—Hurricane has swung up—sskfskehgghsksg—back in—shkgsk—lantic ocean. Should clear—skghhskgh—forty minutes. Stay insi—skeksghsesk—ther notice—." 

Mr. and Mrs. Renton smiled and breathed quick sighs of relief. 

I frowned. "What's going on?" 

"The hurricane is swinging back into the ocean. We're not in the eye of the storm, we're on the outside of it."

I blinked and then said, "So it's over?" Mr. Renton smiled replied, "Yes, it's over." He glanced at his watch and said, "Lasted six hours…," he stopped, and looked at me as if there was something concerning him. Then he spoke…, "You don't have a home, do you Asazi?"

I shook my head no.

Then he smiled and said without hesitation, "Then you can stay with us for awhile!" 

That safe, secure feeling came again and I didn't know how to treat it. Should I stay comfortable or should I dismiss it and always stay on guard? Should I stay or should I leave? About a half-second later I said, "I would like that very much…"


	18. Forgotten

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 18

The storm left Miami in less than an hour after we had turned on the radio. I was glad. There was something about that storm and the dreams I had that…maybe it was my imagination…no…yes…maybe…who could tell? 

Nemesis. **What **was he, other than…what I don't want him to be? Was he my imagination…that's I want but in the past few weeks, I haven't gotten anything that I've wanted… Nemesis. He had to be…I heard the whispers before, it's just that they never have shown themselves…or a part of them or an image or…**what is he?**

The question clouded my thoughts and confused me. Nemesis is my enemy…or at least that's what he said. And I…perhaps Mr. Renton might know…he might…you never know…

I was sitting in the living room on a sofa with my back to the wall. Kiara and Jake were playing on the floor a few feet from me and Mr. Renton was outside, telling some guy with a chainsaw how to cut the tree down without it hitting the house…where was Mrs. Renton? I got up and left the living room, searching for her.

I found her in the kitchen, making sandwiches. She noticed my entrance and my blank face and asked, "You okay?"

I shook my head no and said, "Mrs. Renton…have you ever heard…um…whispers that come from your own head? They seem to echo in your own head. They don't come from your ears…dammit, I can't describe what I mean!"

Her eyes widened on a certain word that had gotten into my vocabulary but she, when she talked, didn't say anything about it. "Yes, Asazi, I have had those…um…how to put it…experiences. Did you hear a voice or a whisper sometime?"

Should I tell her? Why not? I nodded yes and said, "I had a dream…and in that dream it was raining—I was in the hurricane and…there was a face that was made out of rain and I would see it and it would say something and then the rain would become rain again." Mrs. Renton nodded and I continued, "It said that it was my nemesis…I think it also meant that that was it's name but…it said it was my enemy and that it was coming to get me on my seventh birthday."

Mrs. Renton's eyes widened for a few seconds and she said, "Asazi…have you ever gone to church?" 

I thought for a second and said, "Yes, a few times…my Daddy was a…a…a Christian but my Mommy wasn't so every time my Daddy was home we would go to church…but he wasn't home all the time. He was a truck driver." 

Mrs. Renton nodded and then continued making sandwiches as she spoke. "Asazi, I know you're young to know about these things but I know some children that have encountered demons before too. Umm…let's just say that this 'Nemesis' is…not good for you. He's evil and he does want to hurt you. But there is also someone that can protect from, uh, 'Nemesis'."

"Who?"

"God."

I stopped. God. The person that took my parents, that took Xynan, that took Asazi, that will probably take Atone…God. Supposedly one of the good guys…**supposedly**…but then again, **I know** that Nemesis is evil…

My hands came up to my head and I grabbed some of my hair and pulled. **WHY ME?** Why does Nemesis have to haunt me, why does God have to take my parents and my life away from me…?

My whole life has come down to that one, single question: **why**? 

Mrs. Renton gently pulled my hands away from my head and said, "Perhaps we should forget about that thing. Nemesis. We should forget about him…okay?" 

Forget about him?

I nodded. I could forget about him. He was my imagination, just like the whispers I heard at the beach at Xynan's house. They were all my imagination. My own imagination. Despite how I felt I laughed. I was deceiving myself. My own mind was tricking my mind…huh?

"The strangest thing is…those dreams seemed so real. The pain, the mud, the rain, the storm itself…the faces…it all seemed so real," I said, voicing more of my thoughts. 

Mrs. Renton bent down on her knees and hugged me, comforted me. "It was all fantasy," she said. "It was all a dream, your imagination…" She let go and stood up and continued making sandwiches. But I could see it on her face that she was disturbed about something. Disturbed about me? Probably…if that was true then I probably wouldn't be able to stay here very long…

Forgotten. I closed my eyes and banished Nemesis from my thoughts…it didn't work but I knew it would after awhile…he was forgotten…hopefully…

I left the kitchen and went back to the sofa. I heard the chainsaw outside, cutting through the tree. I felt alone again. I felt alone and confused and…I just wish that I could enjoy my life like so many other people appear to. Then it occurred to me that some people aren't happy, they just appear to be. They **appear** to be. 

Perhaps Mrs. Renton wasn't a happy person. No, she was. She was a Christian. She knew God much better than I did or probably ever would…I was godless. How could I become friends with God? With all my troubles and all my sorrows and all my **hate**…how could I? Or maybe the question should be, do I want to be happy? Do I want to live?

I sat back on the couch in the living room with no one to really talk to but my own head. My own mind. The bruise on my head hadn't swelled up too bad. I could feel the knot but it didn't really hurt anymore. 

I pondered the thoughts of my own life. **My** existence…what am I here for? How did I even get here?

Mrs. Renton interrupted my thoughts by coming into the living room with a tray of sandwiches and saying, "Lunchtime!" Kiara and Jake jumped with smiling faces and ran for the food while I stayed where I was. I wasn't really hungry…well, I was but…hell, why not eat when there's food in front of you waiting to be eaten? 

I got up, walked over to Mrs. Renton and took a sandwich. They were turkey sandwiches with the white ketchup (my mommy called it Mayo) and lettuce. A few had tomatoes but I didn't like tomatoes. I took a bite and, after tasting it, took another one. They were good…very good…

"Asazi," Mrs. Renton called. I turned to look at her and she said with a smile, "After lunch…I'm gonna give you a tour of our home, okay?" 

"Uh…no thank you Mrs. Renton; I've already had one."

She opened her mouth, then stopped for a few seconds…then said, "That's true…well then I guess you already know where the bathtub is, right?"

I nodded and she smiled. "Good because you look like you could use a bath." 

At first I thought she was making fun of me but then it occurred to me that I hadn't had a bath for at least two weeks. "Sounds good," I said, trying to smile but smiles are hard to come by for me. 

I quickly finished the sandwich, motivated by the thoughts of a warm bath. I asked Mrs. Renton where it was and she took me to it. She showed me how to work the hot and cold water and soon I was in the bathtub, warm water all around me, relaxing my sore muscles and confused thoughts. 

Mrs. Renton had taken my clothes and said that she was going to wash them. 

I didn't care. At this moment I was relaxed for the first time in a long time…

And as if that wasn't enough, I no longer felt unneeded. I felt…kindness. 

But that had a bad side to it. That meant that I would get weak, that when one of Miami's gangs did find me I would be weak and they would either kill me or take me without a problem…but no matter what, I'll **never** go down without a fight…**never.**

I lied there in the bathtub, thinking about Brink and Xynan. Two people that had the same job but different hearts…how could Xynan have been so compassionate towards me but then be coldly bitter toward Brink? It didn't make any sense. But life doesn't make sense either. 

Not even aware of it, sleep had creeped up on me and took me over…

-_-

"Asazi?"

I awoke to a woman's voice. I looked over and saw Mrs. Renton placing some clothes on the floor. They weren't mine but they looked like they would fit. "You weren't making any noise so I thought I better come check on you…you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just fell asleep." I rubbed my eyes and noticed that my fingers were now pink raisins. 'Wrinkled and chewy' I liked to call them. 

"Looks like you're all cleaned up," Mrs. Renton said. "Let me fix your hair and you'll look great." 

I'll look…great? No I won't; I'm a killer, a murderer, a guilty six-year-old girl…I'm not beautiful in any way. "Thanks but no thanks. I don't think…I don't think that I'll look much better."

Her eyes got so wide they looked like you could tap them and they'd fall out. "Asazi, you're a good-looking girl; if you take care of your hair, you might be a model," she said.

Or an assassin.

__

It's amazing to me. I was so small yet I somehow knew what I would become…a monster. I would become a monster, if I hadn't already. An assassin…isn't it ironic?

I denied Mrs. Renton until she gave up left me alone. I put on Kiara's old clothes and left the bathroom, searching for Mrs. Renton. I was glad I hadn't found her because when I heard her voice, I heard other's…

"Mrs. Renton, we know that you're a good family and all but we need that little girl that you took in during the hurricane. She belongs to the orphanage and we absolutely must return her to her rightful place." The voice belonged to someone in his mid-twenties. I couldn't see him but I was just around the corner. 

They were in the living room and judging by the shadows of Mrs. Renton and the two other figures, Mrs. Renton was cornered. The gang's had already found me, even though it had only been a few hours since I had gotten rid of them. A day at the most…why don't they just leave me alone?!

"A little girl," Mrs. Renton asked. "We saw one on the streets but she was gone before we could get outside to get her."

"Bullshit. We saw her go into her house and we haven't seen her come back out. Where the hell is she?" 

Mrs. Renton's reply sounded surprised but I could detect the fakeness in her voice. "How **dare **you say that in here! Get out of our house!" 

The two gang members laughed and said, "We've tried the easy way…now we get to do the **hard** way!" 

I knew what they were going to do. Mr. Renton was outside assisting the chainsaw guy…the kids had disappeared and Mrs. Renton was basically alone…I knew what they were going to do…

Mrs. Renton had showed so much kindness to me that I had to return it…

I stepped into the living room, unarmed and not read for a fight and said, "I'm right here. You leave her alone and I'll go with you." 

****

Author's Note

Sorry that this chapters isn't that good. I'm having a little writer's block but chapter 19 should be a lot better! There's also going to be some ACTION in the next chapter so don't give out on me now.


	19. Manipulation

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 19

"I'm—right here," I said, my voice choking in mid-sentence.

The two gang members whirled around to see me with arms up and palms showing. 

"I don't have anything and I will go easy **but** you leave her alone." I didn't have a weapon. That was bad news…but I had to save Mrs. Renton. I had to return the favor…

"Well, well, well…the infamous Asazi wannabe," said one of them. 

The other said, "If you try anything, we have permission to put a bullet in your head so don't be pullin' no tricks…unda'stand?"

I nodded and replied, "No tricks—for now." 

They looked at each other then back at me. Mrs. Renton was standing the corner, watching the whole thing go down. "Tell Mr. Renton I said thanks," I said to her, then walked over to the gang members and said, "Let's hurry up before I think twice."

I was surprised…I couldn't help it. The looks on their faces showed victory but at the same time…**fear**. They were afraid of me, an almost-seven-year-old girl that had killed a few rookies and took out a few others…they were **afraid **of **me.** Fear…the same thing that they had evoked into me. But now things were different. Now **I **had killed, now I had a few credits; I had taken out four people on a rainy, muddy day. I had gotten away from the Chinese man at the park and the other few guys there…and the cops hadn't caught me yet.

No cops. 

I guess that was one reason why the gangs wanted me. I had managed to avoid the police every time something happened. Not to mention the fact that I'm six and I can shoot a gun. 

"Let's go," the blonde one said and led me out of the house. Mrs. Renton stayed back in the living room. I was glad. She could've gotten shot if she hadn't…and I would've tried something if she did. 

One member behind me and the other in front of me, leading me to their car. Their car was a sports car; I didn't know what kind but I had seen it before…somewhere…

I got put in the back with the black-haired guy. The blonde started the car and took off down the street. I looked out a window, watching the trees and houses go by…watching the children laughing and playing on the sidewalks and the stray, happy but hungry dogs jogging around the blocks…so many people and they had no idea that I was in a car with gang members…

It happened so sudden. My thoughts on the people we were passing in the car. The car just barely going over the ten-mile-an'-hour speed limit…it happened **so fast**…

**BLAM! SSSCCCCRREEEECCCHHHHH!!** Our car braked to a stop and the driver yelled, "GET DOWN!"

I ducked forward just as the window I was looking busted. Glass flew onto and over me. The gang member next to me yelled out in pain then swore and pulled out a gun and aimed it out the window. What's happening?! What's going on?!

"Get outta here, dammit," shouted the guy next to me. Our car's tires squealed, burning the rubber and then took off. The jolt slammed me back against my seat and my back jolted up in pain. "Stay down," said the guy next to me…it took me a second to realize he was talking to me.

I nodded, acknowledging the fact that I'd heard him. Our car was flying down the streets but I could hear another car behind us…

"**Shit**," said the guy next to me. "They're still on us, Mike. We need to get the hell outta here. How far is our nearest turf?"

The guy that was driving, Mike, said, "It's six fucking miles from here man. We're screwed." 

"Fuck," muttered the guy next to me. 

Then Mike said, "Hold on. They said if we go on Ninth Avenue then they would bring in backup. Where's Ninth Avenue?" 

BLAM, BLAM! More gunshots! "How the hell would I know," yelled the guy next to me. BLAM! Another gunshot and he said, "That's fucking it. These bastards are mine." I sat up and looked out the back windshield and saw a convertible cruising after us. There were three people in it and two of them had guns and were aiming at us. 

I ducked back down and the guy next to me said, "Die you mutha fuckers." BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He fired off four rounds and then I heard an automatic firing and our rear windshield busted out. Mike yelled from the front, "You okay?" 

I glanced over at the man next to me and saw a bullet hole in his forehead. Blood was streaming down his face and—I looked away. Take his gun…I gotta get his gun. I looked back at him, trying not to notice his blood and the fact that he was dead. I reached over with a trembling hand and pulled the bloody gun from his hands. 

No doubt the people chasing us were a different gang…and they were probably after me…take control of the situation. Control one car and you can control the other. I smiled as a plan started forming in my head. The gang behind me wasn't firing anymore and probably wouldn't. Kill the driver and you might kill me. I smiled at another thought that occurred to me. Aren't I special? People killing others just so they could get **me…** Sarcasm of course. 

I sat up so the people behind me could see me and I waved at them. Then pointed at the driver with the gun…the guy in the passenger seat of the convertible shook his head no. And I yelled out, "Bullshit." The driver started laughing really hard and the passenger seat guy yelled something at him…I couldn't make it out. 

I then pointed at the driver again and they both shook their heads no. I shrugged and thought how are they even going to stop me? I faced the front to see the driver looking at me and he said, "I thought you weren't going to try anything!"

"I recall saying 'for now' at **that** time so if you—," I pulled the gun out into his eyesight and pushed the barrel up against the back of his neck and said, "—would do what I tell you too…okay?"

He sighed and said, "You win…I'm gonna die either by your hand or theirs…" I knew what he was saying. He was going to crash the car and kill himself, trying to kill me. "**NO**," I yelled before he started swerve. "I'll let you live," I shouted but he swerved over into the other lane, facing the oncoming traffic. "**Shit**," I screamed. "I'LL YOU LIVE, DAMMIT! JUST DO WHAT FUCKING SAY!"

The nearest car was thirty feet away but it was swerving off…and then he swerved back into the right lane of traffic…

My adrenaline levels must've been at an all time high. My heart was pumping so fast and my mind was racing…my breathing was short and out-of-breath. 

I kept the gun, a pistol, right on his neck but I did ease off a little. I was scared. I'll be honest. I was very scared but I knew now that he was in my control. He had the same attitude I did: if I'm going down, I'm taking someone with me. 

There was a parking lot nearby and I told him to pull over into it. He did and the convertible followed us…

"Okay, good job," I said. What else was I supposed to say? What else could I say? The people in the convertible behind us were getting out and approaching us. I opened my door and got out of the car, the gun still in my hand. My hand felt wet and I looked at it; there was blood on the gun and on my hand from the dead guy. I grimaced but held the gun firmly.

"Whole town's talking about this one little girl," said one of the three guys. "And now we finally have her in our hands. About fucking time." He had been the driver. 

"Let him live," I said, gesturing to the driver of the car I had been in, Mike, "and I go with you."

That brought on a couple little laughs. "Really? And what if we kill him?"

"I don't go with you." I raised the gun and pushed the barrel up against my temple. "I don't go with you," I repeated, no joking in my voice. I had the situation now. I had manipulated them into believing I would pull the trigger…and if they did kill him…I **will** pull the trigger. I don't have any life and I don't think I ever will…

"I don't have a life that I want to live," I told them. I pointed to Mike and said, "He probably does. He probably never wanted to get involved with you people or the people that he's messing with right now. He probably wants a nice wife, a good job, and a couple kids…but you kill him and you take it all away. Kill him and you also kill me."

They thought about it for a few seconds then the driver said, "He lives." 

With that, Mike took off, his tires screeching and engine roaring. 

A few seconds later and he was gone. Now it was just me and three guys about fifteen feet from me. 

I wasn't going with them. Well, I didn't plan on it anyway. I was going to fight. 

"Let's go, girl," said the driver. "We've let that guy go and that was our end of the deal. Let's go." I looked at him with no emotion and took the gun away from my head. Sirens could be heard in the background of the regular city noises. Cops were on their way. Somebody had called in…

I closed my eyes and said, "Why are you afraid of me?"

The driver smiled and laughed a little, then he glanced at his two buddies and said, "Afraid of **you**? You're six fucking years old. Why would we be afraid of your skinny little ass?"

"I saw the looks on all of your faces when I saved myself and Mike from dying. I manipulated him into doing exactly what I wanted him to do. You know I've killed several people—none of them by my own choice but life is like that too, huh? Life. I've taken away people's lives. You have too…but do you **want to**?"

They sort of looked toward the ground and I used it. I raised the gun and—BLAM, BLAM! I fired twice, killing the driver and the man in the back. I pulled the trigger again but it made a different noise. CLICK! Uh oh. Out of ammo. 

The other guy looked at his two friends and said, "That little bitch…" I ran towards him and plowed into him. He hadn't been ready for that. The gun he had been pulling out of his trench coat flew from his hands and I raised a fist and rammed it into his weak point. His hands shot down to protect to himself and I used his distraction to get up. 

Once I was on my feet I kicked him in the head. Then I did it again…and again, and again and again until he cried out and lost consciousness…he was bleeding all over. I had broken his nose and kicked him in the head five times…and I had done it ruthlessly. I did it over and over until I knocked him out…

"They were right," said a voice from behind me. I whirled around and saw the guy who had been sitting in the backseat on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the left shoulder…right above his heart, I think. "The bitch can fight…" He raised his gun, my eyes widened and before I could do anything…BLAM!

I flew back from the impact; cold steel mixed with pain erupting into my stomach…

I hit the pavement hard, headfirst…and as my vision blackened I realized that I had finally been shot…


	20. Last Order

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 20

I awoke a few seconds later to see four police cars skidding to a stop in the parking lot. Behind them was an ambulance and a fire truck. The fire truck came to a stop and a cop went up to it, pointed south, and said something to the driver of the fire truck and the fire truck left the parking lot, speeding down the road with sirens blaring. 

The cops reached the scene and started examining the bodies. 

Pain overwhelmed my stomach and head as I started to get up. I had to get away from the cops. They were one of my many enemies too. I got to my feet with blood gushing from my stomach and I started limping away. I heard someone shout and following the shout were two pairs of footsteps running toward me. 

I wasn't going to get away. My hands held my gunshot wound, trying to keep the blood from spilling. I was going to die…I was going to die.

At first, the thought seemed horrible. But as I collapsed onto the pavement I realized that death was my only escape from the gangs and other Shawn's that're out there…

As my eyesight darkened I felt released. Free from the anxiety and fear…**Free**…freedom lies only in death…

-_-

Pain! Something jabbed into my stomach and I moaned in pain. My whole body was numb but I could feel a distant pain in my stomach. It was sharp and seemed like it was cutting through me. "Is she awake," asked a voice. My hearing started to come into play and there was a noisy siren nearby…

"Looks like it. We're gonna need to keep her asleep because this bullet could slip into her lungs if she moves around too much." 

"Okay. Where's the tranquilizer?" A female voice.

"Over there…inject it in the wrist." A few seconds later and I felt something go into my wrist. A little pain accompanied it but I didn't care…I was thinking.

Why haven't I died? Am I in heaven? Of course not…I'm in the ambulance. I didn't die.

"You're not going to die, little girl. You're gonna be okay." 

Had I said something out loud? My world seemed to spin even with closed eyes. What's going on? "We're taking you to the hospital. Don't worry now, it'll be okay."

"It'll be okay when I die," I mumbled. 

Silence. Only the sirens' annoying, high-pitched squealing was heard. "There's the bullet! Get it out now, before she moves. Sit still girl, okay? You're about to be…uh…fixed." I felt a hand press down into my wound and I felt the fingers move around inside me. It was a strange feeling. It didn't hurt but it felt uncomfortable. Then I felt overwhelming pain. It was shocking! It almost took control of me and I spasmed out.

"Shit, she's moving," cried out one of the doctors. 

"Hold her down," said the female doctor. "I've almost got it—," I spasmed again and she said, "—hold her down, dammit." I felt a hand pry the center of my pain and then it ripped something from me. 

"AAA," I screamed. 

The hand exited my stomach area and the woman said, "It's gonna be okay. We've got the bullet out…ssshhh…it's gonna be okay…" Her tone changed and she said, "When's that tranquilizer go into effect?"

"Uhh…another minute or so."

"Okay…uh…," her tone changed back into the nice 'it's gonna be okay' tone. I guess that meant she was talking to me when using it. "You're gonna be okay. You've stopped bleeding and the bullet is gone now so you're gonna be okay…" Then she changed tones again. "How do you think she'll recover?"

"From the looks of it, she should be able to walk around without many problems in a month and in two months she should be just normal…"

He kept on talking about me but I didn't listen. Or care. Shambles. My body was in shambles. I'm gonna be okay, she kept saying. Yeah right. I've been shot and you say it's gonna be okay? You…are……

Sleep attacked me full force and I faded away…not worrying about anything but the gangs finding me and killing me while I'm weak…

And they would eventually…

-_-

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in a hospital room. There was a TV hanging from the ceiling a few yards away, I was in one of the two beds, the other one was empty and around ten feet from me.

I felt a little strange but there was no pain and I wasn't that tired anymore. Then I noticed the medical 'equipment'. 

I had two needles in me. One poking into my wrist with a tube going up and into a pouch full of what looked like water. The other needle was in my arm attached to a tube that was filled with red liquid…blood. The tube went off and under the bed. 

I sighed. I was weak and vulnerable. I couldn't fight or—train? I can train myself to do things…I could train myself to wake up at a certain time in the morning and I could… Maybe they'll let me watch movies with gunfighting scenes so I could learn what'd stop a bullet and what won't while at the same time learning **how** to actually fight.

I could watch some movies with fist fights and see what I myself am capable of…perhaps the time I'll spend in the hospital won't be too bad…

A nurse entered the room. After closing the door behind her she walked over to me and said, "Are you feeling okay?"

Having never seen her before, I didn't trust so I decided not to talk and to act traumatized. I shook my head no while making my head shake as if I couldn't control it. I wanted to completely manipulate this woman into making her do close to whatever I wanted. I blinked a few times and said in a shaky voice, "Do-do-does the t-t-t-TV work?"

It took her a second and then she said, "Oh, the TV? Yes it works; the remote is right there," she pointed to a black device with buttons on it. I looked at it and then back at her. "Are you sure you're okay," she asked again. 

I nodded yes this time. 

She frowned but then continued checking the machines and needles. "I'm gonna have to give you a few shots, okay? It'll make you feel better." I nodded and she jabbed a needle into my shoulder, injected the liquid into me and pulled it back out. "There you go. I have to give you a few more tomorrow but not right now. Sound good?"

I said, "Yes…" 

She then said, "By the way, you have a few visitors but I wanted to see if you were awake before I let them in. Do you want to see them?"

My blood froze and I think my heart stopped thumping for a few seconds. But there was no denying them. They would either force their way in or they would come in peacefully…I wanted peacefully so no one would suspect me as guilty. 

"Yes, I would like to see them. Are they-they my fruh-fruh-friends?"

The nurse smiled and said, "Yes, I think they are." She left the room, nodded her head to someone outside and walked down the hallway, away from me. Even though I didn't know her, I wanted her to stay in here…but she had other patients to attend to. I wasn't important enough, even though these people might want to kill me right now. 

Three people walked in. All looked like they were around high school to college age. Two guys and a girl. The girl stayed back a little and closed the door, then joined the other two, standing next to my bed looking down at me. 

"Hello Asazi," said one of the guys with blonde hair. "I'm Travion. This is—," he gestured to the girl, "—Summer and this is—," he gestured to the other guy, "—Brett. We were sent by our leader, who is now dead, to protect you until you are healed." 

"Who was your leader," I asked, hoping that they said who I thought it might, **just might** be…

"Xynan. I believe you knew him."

Xynan told people from his gang to protect me? So Xynan isn't dead yet? No, he's dead. He was chopped in half… The mystery whirled around my head but disappeared when Travion said, "You watched him die, didn't you?"

I looked up at him and shook my head no. "I watched him get chopped in half and then I left after Brink left. You should know I'm on your side. I've killed many from Brink's gang, especially Brink himself. I hope you aren't planning on killing me or anything. It would be a waste."

Travion smiled and said, "Yes it would be a waste if you died. You obviously have talent and the whole city is talking about you." 

Summer smiled a grim smile and said, "Xynan wanted us to protect you. We don't know why. Xynan almost always had his own agenda and always had a plan for what's to come and the people that he met. He told us the night he met you that he was planning on sending you to my place for you to have an actual home **and** training…"

"So basically, you're on my side?"

Travion answered, "Yes, I—and the others—are on your side."

They scattered and sat down in different chairs of the room. I looked at Brett and asked, "Are you shy?" Travion laughed and said, "Brett, uh, doesn't like to talk. He just wants a piece of somebody in the other gang, that's all."

"Oh…so…are you all going to be here for awhile?"

Summer answered, "Until you heal and are ready to leave the hospital. Then it's up to you whether or not you want to move in with me. You'll be safe there and you'll get trained on how to survive on the streets. Miami is **not** a safe place…but then again, you're not a safe person…"

I frowned. "How would you know?"

Travion answered with a hint of curiosity in his voice. "We watched you take out those people in the parking lot...where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

That made me mad. "Shoot like what? The assholes were right there, how was I going to miss? They weren't even twenty feet from me. You see, that's what makes me mad. Everyone says everyone is talking about me when I haven't done anything special."

"You've avoided the cops," said Summer. "You've survived…hmm…how many shootouts is it now?"

Weariness came over me. I was getting tired again. "If you're tired, go ahead and sleep. We're gonna be right here and you don't have to worry about anyone else." I nodded, acknowledging Travion that I heard him. I was tired and I need the rest…so I slept, with three strangers in the same room protecting me…but I felt safe with them because they knew Xynan and Xynan had ordered them to protect me and that meant Xynan trusted them…and if Xynan did, I could…

…So I slept…


	21. Insecure

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 21

They were there when I woke up the next morning, they were there. Well, Travion and Summer were. They said that Brett had a few things he had to attend too but they had been there all night. It made me feel good. Somebody had been there while I was sleeping.

Somebody had watched over me and would've fought for **my **life…my unimportant, despicable life. All because of Xynan. I didn't know it but I missed him. He picked me up when I was down…he helped me. 

Shit; that sounded way too sappy…but it was true. Xynan had helped me when I was hurt. When I was still feeling Shawn's perverted hands on me…

But all that pain is over now. Now I had different pain. Pain that was going to stay with me…I looked at Travion and smiled. He was talking with Summer, his wide shoulders hunched over and his blonde and black hair hanging down. He reminded me of Xynan so much that I felt like asking him if he was related to him but I didn't…dunno why, I just didn't. 

I watched how he talked with Summer. He looked like he was enjoying her…he liked her. No, not like as in, just friends…I saw it. I could see it. He 'liked' liked her. He was like Xynan with Asazi—the real one.

I sighed. 

Life was not what I wanted it to be. I had so many plans for the summertime back in Colorado. I was going to go to Brittany's house and play games, I was going to go to the park, and I was going to go to the movies with my Mommy…

…But it all changed in one second. One second and our car flipped. Two seconds and we hit the highway, launching my Dad from the backseat and splattering him all over the highway…another second and we were hit by another vehicle, busting out all the windows in our car which killed my mother and injured me…that's why she had been bleeding everywhere. She had hundreds of pieces of glass all in her…

FLASH!

I shot my right knee up into his shoulder, sending the gun's barrel downward, aiming toward my stomach. Still bleeding from the gunshot wound in the shoulder, I whirled my arm around, blood flying from the wound into Brink's eyes. 

His hands flew up and he clawed at his eyebrows—

FLASH!

He went through an intersection…suddenly, halfway through the intersection he swerved right, toward a telephone pole. Bail!, instinct screamed.

I followed its advice. I opened the door and moved to jump out when—caught! I had a seat belt on! I frantically pushed on the button but it was jammed—

FLASH!

I flew from the vehicle, out through the front. The sidewalk flew up fast but a figure suddenly stepped out in front and—I smashed into another human and a half-second later we both tumbled and rolled onto the sidewalk. I heard someone scream and metal wrenching and, quite suddenly, something hit my head and I started seeing stars…

I struggled to hold my—

FLASH!

I was back in the hospital bed…my heart was thumping fast. I had flashbacks…funny, I always thought those were in the movies and stories. 

I calmed down and looked up at the blank TV…my movie plan. Watch movies, get moves, use moves…not bad…might as well start now.

I reached over and grabbed the remote. It was light, not to heavy for my weak, sore arms but not too light either. I turned on the TV and started channel-surfing…hmm…some sappy soap opera…a crummy cartoon…

Ah ha! An old James Bond film was just starting! It was old but I can—could always use the old stuff instead no stuff at all…the title of the movie was "From Russia with Love". I raised an eyebrow at the title but stayed tuned to it. 

It was interesting. James Bond made out, then fought, then kissed, then fought, then made out…a very sexually active person for an agent/killer. Hope I don't end up like that…

I eventually turned it off. It wasn't…appealing you might say enough for me. It seemed unreal; fake…I then figured it out. You can only learn from experience; you can't learn by watching a movie. You have to **be** there, you have to **see** someone jump up a wall without a cable before you believe it. 

I got bored…

…**Very** bored…

Travion suddenly got up and left the room. Where the hell is going? I followed him with my eyes and, after he left, looked at Summer. "He's going to go get lunch," she said. "Are you okay? You seem a little pale…"

"I'm fine," I replied. "I was just thinking about movies and reality. I wanted to learn a few things from movies but it just didn't work…didn't seem real."

Summer smiled and said, "I've tried the same thing but you have to—''

"**Be there**," we said together.

She laughed but I didn't. She and I were thinking the same thing…interesting. I've never had that happen before… Was that normal? Does that happen every now and then or does it happen a lot? Very strange yet at the same time funny…I guess you could use 'funny' both ways to describe it…

The door opened and in came—

Four guys with guns in their hands. "Well if isn't the little bitch," said one of them. Another added, "Along with a super-fine bitch." 

Summer was on her feet with a gun in each hand. Both of the guns she had were automatic. So it was basically two automatics versus…I counted six automatics and two pistols…we're dead.

It all came down to who fired first…hopefully no one because I didn't have a gun. 

"I have an idea," said one of the four. "Let's take both of them and see if they're both virgins." They all laughed but Summer didn't. Summer kept her guns level and when she replied, she made **me laugh**. She said, "I bet all four of you are still virgins because you can't get anyone but yourselves."

I laughed but stopped because it hurt my stomach. 

Summer kept her guns level and I kept my eyes level. This was bad. I heard the door open and a nurse let out a shriek but was cut off. One of the four grabbed her and pulled her in before anyone outside would probably notice. It was the nurse from yesterday, the nurse who had given me shots. 

"Now **here** is someone worth—''

"Shut the hell up, man," said one of the other gang members. "You wanna tell everyone we're here? Go ahead and take her now because it looks like we might—''

Then I heard a noise that sounded like a muffled gunshot, only it came real fast and quick. Suddenly the four guys started falling down. 

BLAM BLAM! Gunshots erupted everywhere. Helpless! I couldn't do anything, I—a bullet hit my pillow and feathers flew out from it. I saw Travion taking out everyone from behind and Summer diving behind my bed, clutching her shoulder with one arm. About two seconds later everything was quiet…

"**Shit**," said Travion as he stepped into the room. "Let's get the hell outta here, Summer." Travion helped her up and then he said to me, "Asazi, we'll be back tonight around one in the morning, okay? We're gonna get you out of this hospital. Okay?"

I nodded and they left. About a minute later cops poured into the room and started asking me questions and removing the bodies and inspecting the area. I lied on almost everything. 

"Who are they?"

"I don't know."

"Who killed them all?"

"The guy in the back. He whipped out a gun and shot them all, then he shot himself. I've never seen anyone commit suicide…it's scary."

The cop nodded and said, "Okay…uh…" He then exited the room and got a nurse to move me to another room so I wouldn't get in the way of their investigation…the sudden adrenaline…

The threats of them raping me…the nurse… 

Are all gang members perverted? Or is it just the ones that seem to want to kidnap me or kill me? Must be because Xynan wasn't and neither is Travion or Summer…well, at least they aren't so far. 

I was moved to another room, still alone with my thoughts…

I wanted to sleep until Travion came and got me…and I **did **sleep but…

-_-

I was outside the hospital. I saw people driving and walking by. 

I was leaning on a wall, it was raining hard. A lot of people were probably running home…then a thought hit me. How the hell did I get out here? I searched my memory but the last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the bed in the hospital after the shoot out…

"I'm almost here," came a whisper.

I jumped and looked around to see a face, made out of rain hit the road and split apart. My heart picked up its adrenaline pace. I started looking around, my eyes searching for a way out, a door to get out of the rain but…what the hell? There wasn't anybody on the streets! It was as if they disappeared and I didn't even notice them gone.

There were no doors to go into to get out of the rain…what?! Everything changed in a few seconds and I didn't even…oh no…

Oh **please** no…Nemesis…

"I'm coming and…" I saw the face but it hit the ground and splattered apart. 

"LEAVE ME ALONE," I screamed. 

"I'm going to **get you**." This time there was no face…why is this happening TO ME?! WHY ME WHY ME WHY ME?!…?

I started crying…crying and crying and he spoke again.

"Your birthday approaches…"

A few seconds later he spoke again, during which I cried even harder. "I'm gonna **get** you…"

I cried and cried again but his whisper didn't come back. He was done haunting me…I wanted to forget him…I desperately wanted him to leave me alone but I knew he wouldn't……he probably was my imagination…but I couldn't stop it…

****

Author's Note

Damn…I'm suffering from a sudden writer's block. It snuck up on me and I couldn't think of what I wanted to happen next…don't worry though. I will continue posting 2 chapters a day until I head for Dallas to get on the camp bus and meet a bunch of new people and all that boring stuff so anyway…sorry this chapter was boring; I thought it was. 


	22. Retreatal Showdown

Asazi ****

NOTE: Keep in mind that the italicized are Asazi's thoughts in the **present**, which is when she's partnered with Dr. X in the shows. The underlined are her thoughts at the time and the bold are emphasized words.

Asazi

__

Chapter 22

My eyes slowly blinked open. I wasn't in the hospital. Trees and tall buildings were flying by in a small frame of glass. A window. Pain. In my stomach and all around my chest. 

It took a few seconds for me to realize that I was in car, going down a highway. I slowly sat up and looked at the driver. He had pitch-black hair that reached his shoulders in a ponytail, small streaks of blonde going through it. He was completely focused on the road, not noticing my awakening. I looked in the passenger seat and there sat Summer. She turned around to see me and said, "Lay down, Asazi. Your wounds are still in full so we need to be careful."

I frowned. "I thought the doctors pulled out the bullet." 

She seemed to smile again. "They did but you're still hurt. Rest, Asazi." She turned back around and said something to the driver. I couldn't make it out but we picked up a little more speed. The sun beat down on my face through the window. I felt it's warmth and smiled. 

Travion and Summer had saved my life, back in the hospital. They cared…but Shawn never did. He used me to satisfy his urges; his wants were things he didn't really need. Forever I'll hate you. And I'll never forget you.

The warm sun seemed to dull my senses. I suddenly felt tired and decided that Summer was right. I sunk back into the sleep that protected me from the real world……

-_-

"Your birthday **comes**…so soon…" 

The hoarse almost-whisper voice, evil sounding awoke me. I looked around to find that I was surrounded by darkness. A small light was in the distance and looked behind to find a creature…a monster. It was a mixture of dragon and bat, its huge leathery wings about the size of a car, it's head the same and its torso the size of a semi. Its legs bulged with obvious muscles that could squash me in seconds…

The dragon's head had a nose that seemed to be shoved up, like a bat. Its breathing was slow, rugged, yet I didn't think that the voice…

"So **soon**…" 

Chills went up and down my spine. Nemesis. 

I whirled around, my wounds forgotten. 

There was an old man, walking toward me. He looked like he was Japanese or Chinese, his short blackish-graying hair tumbling down to his waist and his long, bony arms folded over in front of his chest. "They never lie, do they," he asked. 

"So you're Nemesis," I said flatly. I tried not to show emotion but fear was overwhelming me. 

The old man giggled with joy, shaking his head. "No, young lady…**this** is **Nemesis!**" Suddenly his skin began peeling away, wings fluttered out and a skull fell from the dead skin that was melting away and—

"AAAAAAAAA!"

I sat up as fast as I could. Cold sweat seemed to rain down my face and back. I was in a bed, the room pitch black. My breathing was fast and adrenaline surging through my veins…

I took a deep breath, remember that Nemesis was my imagination…wasn't he? Or was he a read thing…something that I couldn't…forget it. 

I shook my head in frustration. There are **so many** things that I don't understand I just…just **wish I had** the right **answers…** I sighed. Who has the right answers? Who has any kind of answers that make sense…? 

I laid back down and tried to think, searching my thoughts for an answer that would cease the questions that pour rapidly into my head. 

Suddenly, Mrs. Renton's voice came to mind. I remembered her answer, when I asked her about Nemesis…

"Asazi, I know you're young to know about these things but I know some children that have encountered demons before too. Umm…let's just say that this 'Nemesis' is…not good for you. He's evil and he does want to hurt you. But there is also someone that can protect from, uh, 'Nemesis'."

I tried to remember what she said after that but…it slowly came back…**God** could protect me. God…if he could protect me, then why didn't he do that when Shawn came into my life? Why didn't God protect me when the gangs started following me around, looking for me?

He **is** protecting me, I slowly realized. How else could I have fought off Brink and his gang on that hillside, when it was raining? I have some experience in shooting but not that much…and when I jumped out of his car when he committed suicide…I landed on Atone…he is protecting me…just not from everything. But why not protect me from everything in this world? Why forsake me at times, then come back and aid me in my survival? 

Why let me imagine…hopefully imagine Nemesis in my dreams?

__

I realized it at the age of six, almost seven…I realized that if there was a God that was protecting me, then he was letting Nemesis happen to me. I still don't know why…I don't think I ever will…perhaps he let these things happen to me so I could get involved with Dr. X so I could meet my…my secret…

I fell asleep with the comforting thoughts that no matter what was happening, God was watching over me, and Travion and Summer were my guardian angels……

-_-

I awoke to Summer scooping me up in her arms. I had been sleeping in the bed I had awakened in earlier. "What's going—," I started to ask but Summer hushed me.

"Ssshhh, Asazi…," she put me back down and looked out a window that was in the room. Moonlight streamed into the room. She turned back to me and whispered, "Asazi…would you like to move away from Miami, away from the gangs and the people that want you? Would you like to go back to school?"

My heart leapt at the idea of going back to school…and leapt even higher at the possibility of me being away from the feuds in Miami. "Yes, please…"

Summer smiled and whispered, "Good. Travion and I are going to take you away from Miami and we're going to start a new life, okay? Would you like to live with us?"

My face literally erupted with joy and I started to nod when Travion rushed into the room. "Summer…we're in trouble…can I talk to you?" Summer looked at me, then back at Travion and said, "Yes." She turned to me, saying, "I'll be right back."

I nodded and sat back down on the bed…

A new life. Away from Miami and the gangs…away…**free**… My thoughts from the nights before slowly filtered back into my head…my thoughts about God. It was true…he was truly watching over me. I just had to see it before he could really rescue me… A sudden feeling of serenity seemed to come over me and I stood up. I was happy…I wandered over to the window and looked through it.

I still didn't know where I was but Travion and Summer were here, and that meant it was okay. We were in the city still, in a neighborhood with a nice road and houses up and down the street. A car streamed down the road, a very nice convertible…a very…**familiar** convertible…

It was the convertible that…I was being taken away from the Renton's, we were driving down the road when those other people attacked our car and then…the people that attacked…that convertible was theirs! The gangs know where I am! Travion and Summer! Oh **NO**!

I ran to the door, whipped it open and started to run when Summer was suddenly there. "Asazi, we have to go, **now.**"

I nodded. "I know…I saw them. They were in a convertible, driving down—''

"You can tell me later, okay? Right now we've got to go, now!"

Travion appeared behind her shoulder and said, "C'mon Asazi. Let's go." 

They guided me through the house and into a garage where a large white van was. Travion unlocked it with swift speed, then got into the driver's seat. I followed Summer around to the other side and got into the only bench while she got into the back of the van. I looked at the back…my eyes widened. The back was a bunch of electronics and guns. There were no windows to see inside and a thought hit me…Travion and Summer aren't members of a gang…they're police…

Travion whipped out of the garage and Summer began loading various pistols and rifles. As she did so, she said, "Asazi, this ride may get a bit bumpy. The gangs think that you're a major threat and are after you." She paused, looking at a pistol. She then handed it to me, saying, "You know how to use it…" I nodded, understanding what she meant. She was basically saying that they may not make it out alive and if they obviously weren't going to, go down fighting…

God help me, I said as we pulled out of the neighborhood and onto the freeway…a convertible tailing us…

-_-

About half-an-hour later, we were still on the freeway, leaving Miami. The traffic had been very slow the past hour and we'd only gotten a few miles… There had been a Miami police car on the freeway, stuck in the traffic the whole time we were there so the gangs couldn't find a time to get us…but the cops pulled off the freeway quite suddenly a few minutes ago, probably answering a call somewhere else…leaving us to deal with the gang.

The four people in the convertible were obviously preparing for an attack. Summer and I could see that they were bending over, fixing things at their feet so no one else could see what they were messing with. Summer had four rifles and six pistols fully loaded and ready to be used. She had arranged them on the floor of the van so that she could use one and the second it was out, throw it off to the side and get another one in a matter of seconds.

I kept watch. I made sure that there were no other cars visibly following us. I didn't know what to look for but at least I could help out. 

Suddenly, I heard car doors slamming in the midst of the car honks and overhead airplanes. I looked out the back door windows and saw the people that were in the convertible getting out, their hands in their coat pockets, the butts of guns sticking out of their pant pockets…they were fully loaded and ready to go…

"Summer," I said quietly. "They're coming."

She looked up at me and then out the back door window. "Right now?! In the middle of traffic?!" I kept the pistol she gave me close to my side…if I was going down, I was taking **everyone **with me… Suddenly I heard more car doors slamming and I hopped into the passenger seat, looking past Travion, who had been silent the past hour. 

I could see in his rear-view mirror…uh oh…there were two more cars that had people getting out of them and walking our way…

"Summer, we're getting ganged by—," I quickly counted. Four from the convertible, three from that station wagon and…**six** from that van…, "Thirteen people."

"**Shit**," Summer said…

And all hell broke loose…

Author's Note 

Hey people! Long time, no write, eh? I'm sorry it's been so long…and I hate to say it but it'll probably be another week or two before I can put up chapter 23. School starts tomorrow, August 14th (FRESHMAN, YEAH!) and, as if that's bad enough, my first day of work is tomorrow too so…huh boy…pray for me, eh? Or something like that. 

Anyway, I apologize for the long delay for this chapter. Please accept my deepest apologies.

CV


	23. Years Fly

Asazi

Asazi

__

Chapter 23

My eyes frantically darted back and forth between the three groups of people that were walking toward our van, all of the people about early 20's and hiding guns in their pockets or jackets…

Adrenaline rushed through me at an unbelievable rate. My sweating hand tightened around the gun as they got closer. Summer was ready with an M-16, right at the back door for when they would bust through it…I could tell that she didn't think she was gonna make it. I glanced at Travion; he seemed okay. His hands tightened around the steering wheel of the car…he was scared.

Fearful…fearful of the unknown…he feared what was coming…so did I…

When four people of gang came within ten feet of our van, Summer kicked open the door, brought up the M-16 and fired ten quick rounds, ending each of the gang members' lives. She pulled back into the van as bullets from other members sprayed into it. Summer yelped in pain as a bullet grazed her thigh. I tried to figure out how I could help…there **had to** be a way…

Outside…

They would never expect an assault from another direction. I got up, pistol in hand and went out the passenger door, closing it quietly. People all around were shouting and yelping. There had been gunfire and about a hundred people had witnessed it…I slowly crept by the cars, slowly getting around the enemy's position…

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Gunfire!

I stood up, seeing three gang people shooting at the van, and through the open doors in the back of the van I saw Summer trying to return fire but never getting the opportunity. It was up to me. I raised the pistol, taking quick aim and…**BLAM!** The kick knocked me back a few steps and I fell down, my head hitting a car behind me. I heard someone shout in the pain and then the shout was cut off by more gunfire. Summer had found an opportunity. 

I heard someone saying something. I looked up and saw someone staring at me from the car I had fallen upon. It was a woman, a look of terror across her face…she was speechless…

I got up on my hands and knees and crawled behind another car. The people inside were ducking down, their hands on their heads, as if their hands would protect them. I could see through the windows that the gang members were looking for me. Now there were six out. They were fanning out…searching for me…a thought hit me. If the kick of the gun hadn't knocked me down, I would've been seen…the kick actually **helped** me…

I slowly raised the pistol, taking aim at the shortest gang member…I fired and I saw a shower of blood for a second, the body falling to the ground and the people rushing back to look at him. I fired again and again, taking down two more of them. 

They finally realized they were being ambushed and ducked down. I guess that Summer could see them from the angle she was at because she jumped out of the van, an automatic rifle in her hand, firing off rapid shots that, judging by the little two-second blood showers that kept popping up, were taking out the gang members. 

She stopped firing after a few seconds, then looked around. I stood up and waved to her. She…, "LOOK OUT," I screamed. A gang member with a knife was sneaking up behind her! She started to turn around when the guy knocked the gun out of her hand, then back-fisted her across the face. She fell to the ground and the man seemed to smile. 

Out of rage, I raised my pistol and started to take aim when the guy suddenly stopped, his face a face of complete pain and shock…then he fell to the ground, revealing Travion behind him, a sword in his hand. 

He then dropped down to aid Summer. I started walking back…it was over. Finally over…I was finally **free** of the violence…**free** of the—

A cold, icy pain sunk into my right shoulder, a little to the right of my shoulder blade…it came out and I suddenly found it hard to breathe…I fell to the ground on my stomach, turning over onto my back to see a girl, probably in her early-twenties, standing over me with a knife in her hands…

A cold smile crossed her face. "Looks like I finally got my kill." Suddenly a figure leapt over me and crashed into the woman. It was Summer, tackling the attacker. The pain started to spread throughout my body and my vision began to fade…

But I fought it with all strength. Summer was sitting on top of the girl, delivering several blows to the head. Suddenly, I could hear sirens, and I could see a cop running up the road, unlatching his holster…my vision began to fade again but I said, "Summer…cops…" She stopped, looked up and said the word that described my life. "Shit!" 

She stopped, turned around, scooped me up and ran for the van. I felt my own blood running down my back…I was about to die…for the second time in my life, I felt my life slowly oozing away…slowly fading, dripping away…slowly…darkness…

"**Asazi!**" 

Summer's yell evaporated all thoughts of darkness. 

"You need to stay with me, okay? If you fall asleep, you won't wake up. And I think you know what that means. Okay?"

I nodded slowly. We reached the van; Travion helping put me into the passenger seat so I could have a good seat belt. When I was in, Travion hopped over me into the driver's seat and Summer hopped over me and got into the bench behind us. 

A figure reached the driver's window, yelling, "Freeze, don't driver or I'll shoot!" A cop.

Travion floored it and bashed through a few cars and got to the nearest exit off the freeway. The traffic was still sitting still. The cops started chasing us but Travion somehow lost them after a few minutes of suspenseful driving…

"Come back here Asazi," came Summer's voice. I got up, wincing at the pain that engulfed my right side of my body. The blood wasn't flowing that much but it hurt like hell.

Summer pulled out a First-Aid Kit and did a bunch of stuff to my stab wound. The things she did hurt but when she was done, I felt better. Travion silently drove and about thirty minutes later, I found myself lying down on Summer's lap…she suddenly bent down and whispered into my ear, "Look Asazi, look out the back windows."

I sat up and looked…there was Miami. We were going up a hill and could see all of Miami's metropolitan area behind us…

Summer said, "Good**BYE**, Miami!"

"Goooooddd**BYYYEEE**, Miami," I repeated with joy. 

Summer laughed and said, "It's quite a driver, where we're going so you might want to sleep, okay Asazi?" I nodded and laid back down. Sleep soon came…

…but Nemesis didn't…

-_-

Another day later and we were driving up a steep mountain slope in Colorado. It wasn't a very high mountain but it was very solitary, in a valley in between a few Rocky Mountains, Summer had said. There, Summer and Travion had bought a house that they had been planning on living in for about a year…they, like me, never wanted to be involved with the gangs.

They said that there was a school nearby, in which I would be enrolled as 'Asazi Tezor'. "Tezor" being Travions' last name and Summer's soon-to-be last name…yep. They are getting married…so…

I have a home…a **home**…and two parents that didn't have me but are willing to take me in and take care of me. Travion and Summer told me on the way to the house that they were gonna take care of me until I move out…all through school…

Isn't it great? I have a **home**, a **family**, and a place that will be cozy and warm…I will have **friends**, I will go to **school**…isn't it the life? Isn't it? 

I will have **a life**…**no more** guns or violence…not now, and hopefully never again…

__

But they never told me that the gangs **could** find us…they never told me that it's not impossible…they never said that the gangs and violence were gone for good…but they made it seem that way. They **let** me think that my past was gone, they **deceived** me…

And I'm still not sure if I should forgive them for it…

A **home**…**free**…

-_-

I celebrated my birthday the next day. I turned seven. I finally had a happy day. After weeks of evil, of violence, of filth, of rape, of guns, of **Nemesis**…there was peace…

I did whatever I wanted. 

Whatever I wanted for a couple weeks, then I went into the 2nd grade. I was already mature enough for 2nd grade so I took a test and went into 3rd grade…I almost passed more exams but didn't skip up to another grade…

Travion and Summer were surprised. They thought that I couldn't make even second grade but because I **enjoyed** the peace that the schoolwork provided, I did it until there was no more to do. The schoolwork took my mind off of my nightmares, took my mind off of the life I used to live…

Even though my past came back to haunt me, I survived and at the end of the school year, went onto 5th grade…

And over the next few years, I grew happier and happier, making friends and acing homework, my past slowly began to filter away, like a forgotten dream…

An evil nightmare that comes back to haunt me every now and then…

I had to take 8th grade over again because Algebra was too hard and I failed it, no matter how hard I tried. But I didn't care because I knew I could do it. It was just a matter of time. I slowly began to learn the numbers and how the calculations work…slowly, my grades began to rise…

Living about thirty miles from a city, I was able to see movies and go to parks and hang out with the friends I accumulated over the years.

Finally, after living hell for a few weeks, I found peace for a few years…but only to a certain extent. I still had this loneliness…I couldn't figure out how to fill it…it was like an empty space inside of me that I couldn't fill…it hurt. 

No matter how many friends I made, no matter how many times I hung out at the mall in the nearby city…I always felt alone. Not when they were with me, but the second they were gone, the burning would return…the burning for something **more** than friends, something **more** than the life I was living…perhaps, someday, I'll fill the hole inside of me…

Someday…

__

I still feel the burning. The burning desire for something more, something **other** than killing, other than friends… The burning was loneliness, and no matter what you try to do, there is only **one** way to fill it…and I had it for awhile…

Only once had the burning gone away…and that was when I had realized that **God** was protecting me…but then I forgot about it and the burning returned…

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one that feels the same pain that I feel…but then I look at the people around me and know that I'm not alone, no matter how hard people try to pretend they're happy…they aren't…

****

Author's Note

No, the story's not over…but yes, I did skip a few years, the _Peace_ years…but now I want to know where I should start going again. Should I start when she turns 15? Or perhaps 16? It's up to **you** **guys**. Whatever age you want me to continue the story at, I'll do it…but keep in mind that majority rules…

So, no, the story is not over. I just had to skip a few years for…certain reasons in the plot…(hehehehehehe…) and now I need your opinion on it. Please post your answers in the forum where I will post the poll **one day** after this chapter was posted…please be honest.

So what age should the narration continue at?

CV


	24. Perfect

Asazi-Chapter 24

Asazi

__

Chapter 24

"Now **that's** a dress for the prom."

I turned to see Elise looking at a midnight blue dress, a silky-fabric with a hardly noticeable design colored black across the front. I nodded my head in agreement and then turned my head back to the cashier.

We were out shopping for the prom. Elise being a sophomore that I befriended when I found out that her father left her mother when he found out she was pregnant. Her mother, a 15-year-old, didn't know what to do so she left Elise out in the cold, where she was found by the parents in which she lives with now… We seemed to connect right off but she is a little excited at times. 

Delia suddenly whined, "Oh **man**! I'm outta cash!?" Delia and I are juniors. 

I tried to hide my amusement. She complains about being out of money when I could complain about being in the middle of a gang war at the age of seven… I shook my head. They were so lucky…

I felt something touch my back and Elise's murmuring. I turned with a frown, "What're you—''

It was the blue dress that she was talking about. "It fits you perfect! Asazi let me tell you, Torin is gonna **like this**…oh yeah… It's perfect for you Asazi, just perfect. I'm tellin' you girl, Torin is just gonna freak out when he sees you wearing this…**man** I'm jealous…" She went on for another minute while I examined it. It came down about two inches above my fingertips which was against the prom rules but I knew several ways into the place without being inspected…

Delia looked my way and just shook her head. "Asazi, you seem to fit into everything." Jealousy and envy…two sins of the American ways.

I turned back to the cashier and said, "Could I go ahead and switch this red one out with this blue one?" I almost bought a nice red dress that would be perfectly fine but if I didn't buy the blue one, Elise would have a fit. 

I didn't really care. There were more important things to be thinking about than shopping. Much more important… Travion and Summer weren't getting along too well since last week. Something got into them one night, after a prank phone call. And the past two days, every time I come home from school I see either Travion or Summer out shooting. 

I wasn't stupid. They were scared. Something was up but they weren't telling me. That was okay, I guess but things like that have nearly killed me before…

I bought the dress and then left the store with Delia and Elise. Elise was hyper and trying to pry into my plans for the night…more specifically, my upcoming date with Torin…

Torin Carleston. The best person I know I right now, and probably ever, other than Xynan (no, I haven't forgotten Xynan…how could I?). Torin was very well-built, a very understanding person with nearly any situation, he could think quick, he** "admired"** me and wasn't cocky at all…he just…doesn't ever brag about how strong he is and gets along with everyone he knows…

He loves sports and we were planning on seeing a movie tonight, after that we would walk in the park, like we always do, then we sit on a hill and, if it's not too late, watch the sunset…if that's already passed, we just watch the stars, not speaking a word…

And even though Delia and Elise joke about it, we've never made out. In fact, I never have…in my own will, that is.

I do not like my past. I hate it. But over the years, I've learned to control my thoughts about it…Uncle Shawn, the bitch, was just suffering from a messed up life, like mine…but the reason he was still screwed up was because there weren't any Xynan's in his life…or Travion's… 

I did. My adopted parents. How I love them…love…used to be something I never knew…and I still don't…but **I would die for them**. Without a doubt.

We left the mall and Elise dropped me off at the driveway to my house. It was 4:30; Torin would be here in 15 minutes. I jogged up our steep driveway to our house. I heard a gunshot but didn't flinch; I sensed it coming. I got to the bathroom, cleaned up a little and just as I stepped outside, I saw Torin driving up. I smiled.

"Asazi!" I whirled around to see Summer jogging down the hill. She was coming from little shooting range we made. Seeing the car before Torin would notice her, she slipped the Browning into her pocket and pulled her shirt down, stretching it. She waved at Torin as she approached me. 

"Asazi," she murmured, "be on guard tonight, okay?" I nodded and she continued, "Take care of yourself and don't get too distracted with anything…that counts Torin too," she added, winking at me. With that she went inside and I hopped into Torin's car…and we were off. 

-_-

We watched a ridiculous movie…in fact, we walked out of it halfway through it, got our money back and went to a nearby outside café. He got an ice water and I had a hot chocolate, even though it wasn't cold outside. Just a nice habit I've developed over the years…

After wards we went to the park and sat on a hillside, watching the sunset…it was beautiful. The skies erupting into passionate, red flames, the circle of orange and yellow slowly sinking out of sight…there were clouds moving in from the west, the sun setting below them. It was definitely going to storm tonight. Torin's understanding eyes watched the sunset, his mouth silent, his ears deaf to anything that didn't involve me or the sunset…

I put my head on his shoulder and he smiled and we watched the sunset together…

A few minutes later, a breeze sweeped in, along with the oncoming clouds from west. I shivered quietly; trying not to show anything…a few seconds later, his coat was gently put on my shoulders. He catches everything…you can't hide anything from him… I smiled. 

The night seemed to go by slowly. The nice and simple breeze, the stars, me cuddled up against Torin…it was so…perfect. It seemed like I was finally at peace again, after all these years…

I sighed and smiled…and quite suddenly, was soaking wet with rain. The clouds that had been coming in were suddenly directly over us, the rain pouring in sheets, so heavy that it stung lightly. 

Torin started laughing and I did too. No reason why…just the fact that we were happy…

After sitting in the pouring, heavy rain, we ran back to his car and sat there, watching the rain and listening to a band called 'Third Eye Blind'…they were new but they were very good. Their CD just came out a month or two ago, featuring the song "Semi-Charmed Life". Very good CD…Torin and I both had it…

Suddenly he leaned over and kissed me. At first, I wasn't sure but after a few seconds, I kissed back. His hands never went anywhere and after what seemed like forever, he pulled back, smiling…, "Love you," he said…

My eyes filled with tears and I smiled with disbelief… 

I couldn't help but ask, "Do…you mean it…?" I was afraid of the answer but without hesitation he said, "Without a doubt."

I cried as the rain poured. It was so perfect…I wish I could've stayed there forever, just watching the rain with him. But Travion and Summer would be wondering where I was pretty soon…

"I don't want—to go but I have to get back home," my voice choking out the words. He nodded, understanding as always and started the car. The song "Motorcycle Drive By" started playing and we both sang the words on the way home…and then came the song "God of Wine"…

I could never sing the words to that song…they were too true…

As we reached out property, I suddenly remembered Summer's words just before I left. "Be on guard tonight, okay," was what she had said. 

"Torin," I said. He turned down the music to a faint murmur and I continued, "I'm gonna go ahead and walk up the driveway, okay?"

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want me to come with you, I mean, it's pouring outside, are you sure?" 

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure…" My hand went for the door handle and tears came to my eyes…Why leave this perfect moment? The thought hit me like a hurricane. Because I have to, I replied to myself. I pulled on the handle and opened the door. "I'll see—," I started but my voice choked.

"You later," he asked. 

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah…later…" I started to get out but I as I stepped out, I turned around, looking back at him. 

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, I guess. Right?"

He nodded, gently. I closed the door and he rolled down the window, me looking through it. 

"Okay then…uh…bye, I—'' 

The sound of splintering glass and a quick, yelp from Torin filled my ears. Panicked, I looked up at my house, half-a-mile up a steep driveway and then back at—

**"NO!"**

Torin's body was suddenly covered in blood, a hole in his chest about the size of my palm. The windshield was spraying glass everywhere and felt small shards go into my skin all over me. My eyes began to haze up and suddenly, Torin yelled again and in mid-yell, his voice was cut off by…death…

My breathing fast, my heart pumping, my eyes crying, I started to reach in but the window next to the driver seat exploded into pieces. Instinctively I hit the ground, my face now covered in mud. The window behind the passenger seat exploded into shards that rained onto my legs. The never-ending storm seemed to pour harder as thoughts raced through my head. It took me a few seconds but I soon realized what was happening…

A sniper. 

Summer told me to be on guard. Something was happening, something…from my past…

As I got to my feet, I looked through the open window at Torin. His body was hardly recognizable. His head had been blown apart by another bullet that had also gone through the back window. His chest was all over the place. 

A dark feeling seemed to come over me.

I silently stole into the woods of the mountain we live, crying over the death of Torin and the serenity that had seemed so real…if only it had lasted longer…

I raced through the woods, on trails that me and Travion had made just in case something happened. I knew them like the back of my hand, I knew this mountain like I knew Torin…and whoever it was that was here, would **pay**, drastically…

I ran harder, pushing myself beyond my own limits…and suddenly, something dropped from a tree and knocked my in the face, causing everything to go pitch-black, and a second later, everything……


	25. Shattered

Asazi-Chapter 25

Asazi

__

Chapter 25

"Asazi, wake up," a voice frantically whispered. 

The rain was still pouring hard. Stinging hard. I was in a puddle of mud, someone's hands gently shaking my shoulders. "Asazi, come on, wake up." Travion. 

I opened my eyes just as a huge lightning bolt flickered across the sky. The storm was harder than earlier. I looked to my shoulders to find the strong arms of Travion…my eyes following the arms up to his face. A look of relief had just seemed to come over him. At least I thought it was a look of relief. I wasn't sure in the rain and dark skies.

"What's the…how…" I stopped talking, my head still a little woozy. 

"Ssshhh, Asazi…take it nice and easy." His arms easily pulled me up to a sitting position. 

And then I remembered. 

The windshield was spraying glass everywhere and felt small shards go into my skin all over me. My eyes began to haze up and suddenly, Torin yelled again and in mid-yell, his voice was cut off by…death…

My breathing fast, my heart pumping—

"**NNOO!**" Energy was suddenly pulsing through me, energy that I haven't felt since…back then…

"Asazi! Calm down! Don't wor…" Travion's words faded from my sense of hearing; everything seemed to suddenly seemed to go in slow motion…as more sudden flashes went through—

…my feet, I looked through the open window at Torin. His body was hardly recognizable. His head had been blown apart by another bullet that had also gone through the back window. His chest was all over the place. A dark feeling seemed to come—

I tried to take deep breaths. Think clearly…focus on the present…come on… I summoned instincts from the past and slowly but surely, old feelings and buried senses came back. I instantly recognized the shadows in the back, hidden by other shadows, layered by trees and bushes…

Travion handed me a Glock from his back pocket and I slipped it into my back pocket. "What's going on," I asked in a surprisingly calm voice. My head was exploding with memories and emotions and possibilities…stop. Focus on the present…the here-and-now…

Anger was flooding into me, the dam that I had built on my past broken.

"They came back. They want you. I don't know why or how they found us but I do know that they have Summer." Travion hesitated, his voice choking. "They'll kill her if I don't turn you in to them. I honestly don't know why or how or **anything** like that but I do know that…they have a knife to Summer's throat and we have to turn in you…"

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath…and smiled. "I'm not going in without a fight or without knowing who I'm fighting."

Travion smiled, I think.

"Good," he said. "I figured you would say something like that. They took the house, were least thirty of them in about five trucks. I was in the master bedroom upstairs and I heard them drive up and get inside in a matter of seconds. I bailed out the rope that we put in that tree that is close to that window…I hid in the tree while they searched the house for you and me…"

His eyes glistened. "They came outside and shouted 'give us Asazi and everything's okay and we leave'. Then they dragged Summer outside…I…they knocked her out…she was…all bruised up and everything…" His shining eyes began to flow in the midst of the rain.

My thoughts were on Torin. They had killed him. 

I realized I was crying too. 

"Asazi…they killed Torin and I'm sorry about that but we can't let them kill Summer…please… I don't know what to do…"

"I do," I replied almost instantly. 

He looked up at me. "What do you have in mind?" 

"They'll kill you and Summer even after they get me…so we walk in there, I say I'm gonna let them take me as long as they don't harm Summer and just as they come over to me, I whip out my Glock, you whip out whatever you have and kick. Their. Asses…

"Sound good," I finished.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, silent breath…

"**Let's do it**," he said. 

We took off into the woods, racing up around the mountain, killing two people on the way up…I wasn't sure but I think one of them was the sniper that killed…that killed Torin…

We made it to the house without a problem. My clothes were sticking to me and it was hard to stay flexible and comfortable but in war on your own turf, you can't loose. So I ignored it. 

I approached the house. The backside of it was all windows, the side that faced the peak of the mountain. They saw me when I was about twenty feet from the house. Travion was at the forest line, ready to step out about three or four seconds before I'd pull the gun and start shooting. 

Once they saw me they were about to come outside but they suddenly stopped and looked at me expectantly. It took me a second but I soon realized that they were waiting for me to come in. Smart…must somehow know that the windows are completely bulletproof…that screws me and Travion's plan…

I stepped inside and almost immediately they walked toward me. I was dripping wet, getting our nice carpet stained and ugly. I noticed Summer lying on the floor, her hands tied behind her back, her mouth gagged…someone with a knife around her neck too. 

There was about ten people looking at me as two of them approached me. They were all punk-looking people. Not leather or anything like that but you could definitely tell they if you were in the same room with them, you would avoid them.

When the two guys walking toward me were about five feet, I whipped the Glock out as fast as I could and got off four shots. 

****

BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!

All were accurate, two slapping the guys walking toward me, one blowing the man with his knife around Summer's necks' head wide open and the last hitting someone that saw it coming. 

"She's got a gun," someone yelled. 

"Shit," yelled another one.

They didn't realize that Summer's captor had been hit. It was a serious problem, the fact that she was unconscious. I looked up and saw someone stepping out from behind a sofa. I fired off a shot before they could. Their heart splattered against the wall behind them. I crawled on my stomach behind a sofa and yelled, "Why do you want me?"

They didn't answer but there was movement at the top of my eyes and as a looked up, a foot swung into my vision and kicking my hand, the Glock flying from my hands over to the door. **Move, move, move!** I started to roll to the left but a second later I was surrounded. 

Two picked me up and with unbelievable strong arms, kept me still. A man with brown eyes stepped up to me and said, "Good fighting…took out five of our men…that's…disappointing but if we have you, Boss shouldn't be to disappointed." 

He leaned in to me, his face close to mine. "He also said we could have a little bit of **fun** before we take you to him too!"

I blinked in out and of images of Shawn and my past going through my head. Suddenly there was wind streaming by face and I hit the ground, the air knocked outta me. I opened my eyes to see the man standing over me. I struggled but couldn't move, the strongest people holding me down.

No…I will **not** let this happen. Not since Shawn and not ever—

The man mashed his lips onto mine for a few seconds and then came up. I blinked and when I opened my eyes, there was a bloody stump where his head and neck were, the sudden disappearance of them accompanied by a gunshot.

Travion!

The sudden gunshot surprised everyone and I was able to break free, sending my left leg into someone's privates, my right leg tripping someone and my arms rolling myself over onto my stomach. In another second, I fluidly jumped up from the floor and landed on my feet. 

A few more gunshots and everyone was down…

Travion stood in the doorway, smoke slowly flowing upward from the Glock in his hand. His breathing fast was fast, his eyes darting rapidly going around the room searching for Summer. "She's right over—," I started to say but looked at where I was pointing and…, "She's gone…she's gone!?" 

Travion and I suddenly heard the trucks outside starting up. 

"Hurry," he yelled, sprinting off through the house.

I followed him but knew that there was no hope. I recalled him saying there were at least thirty of them…only about half were inside the house…

We got outside into the pouring rain to see the taillights of four trucks just passing Torin's car, at the base of the driveway, fading away into the distance. Torin's headlights were still on…tears came to my eyes but I tried not to show them as Travion suddenly yelled, "Look! They left a—'' 

Time slowed as I saw it but it was too late…, "Travion, duck!" Too late…

**BLAM BLAM!!**

Travion's chest rippled from the force of the two shots going through him…and out the other end, little bits of flesh and drops of blood flying out from behind him…

My thoughts clouded, I sprinted to the truck and hit the dirt just as bullets soared into the air right behind me. I rolled under the truck. I could hear the man inside literally yelling at the engine that wasn't starting right. It sounded like the battery was dead. 

I silently approached the driver side of the huge truck. The man inside was panicked, judging by his frantic yells at the engine. I waited…until he suddenly stepped out and jumped out of the truck, starting to run away but I grabbed his foot, pulling him to the ground. 

He hit the dirt and rolled. Now take him out, something seemed to say inside of me.

I pushed myself away from the ground and kicked him in the side, causing him to cough up blood. "DIE YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH," I screamed as I kicked him and kicked him until there was a sudden crack coming from his body and he yelled in pain. Consumed by anger, I reached down and said, "See you in hell, bitch." I then reached over, positioning one hand on his chin, the other on the back of his head…and pushed with one hand and pulled the other, breaking the man's neck in one swift, fluid motion…

Adrenaline pumping, I walked over to Travion, who was staring up into the night. I held him up and he seemed to come to life. "Ge-e-e-t-t-t…Sum…Sumah…" And his head sinked back into muddy puddle, his face immersed in the mud…

Eyes tearing with emotions, I slowly stood up… Hate, fear, anxiety, questions, everything from the past was suddenly flowing back into me…the memories, the feelings, the emotions…the…

I slowly walked inside and collapsed onto the floor… It had returned…my past…just as everything was**…perfect…**


	26. Test

Asazi-Chapter 26

Asazi

__

Chapter 26

I awoke sometime around eight in the morning, it taking me a few seconds to realize that I had even fallen asleep… Torin was gone…Travion and most likely Summer…

You have to keep control, I told myself. Make everything seem all right… Slowly I realized that meant going to school…

I got to my feet and took a quick shower, focusing on nothing but the spots on the walls. Had to keep control, couldn't think about what happened…

I looked at myself in the mirror after getting out of the shower. My hair was stringy and damp with water; my face looking seriously stressed…I looked like shit. **No…don't think about it**, I mentally yelled at myself…

Take a deep breath…

Focus…

Focus…

Focus…

"**DAMMIT!**" 

My fist came to life and slammed into the mirror, splattering it across the bathroom and into the sink…I cried, not because of physical pain…but because I couldn't run anymore…and I knew it…

"**WHY**," I yelled. "Why **NOW**??…"

I sobbed and sobbed…slowly but surely I began to feel better. I had to go to school…somehow, just go there and not come back…

I got everything from the house that would be important and put it in the trunk of the '96 Mitsubishi Gallant that Travion had bought a few months ago. It wasn't the best car but it had speed and good handling…it was a good car. I liked it. 

I stepped outside, the dead bodies of Travion and the other man outside. I hadn't even gone into the room that all the other people were in…I got our whole Glock Armory from our basement and put the three boxes into the trunk. 

The 'Glock Armory', as we named it, consisted of ten .45 Glocks, a whole box of ammunition (say, 2,000+ rounds), and another box full of various additions such as scopes, almost completely unheard of silencers made just for Glocks, and other various things…

I had more room so I put a lot of canned goods and assorted foods that wouldn't rot. Who knew how long I'd be out on the road, if I left? I also stuffed clothes into the backseats, car tools just in case of a break down and…I tried to think…yeah…that's about it… I looked at my watch. 

It read 9:32.

I'd be late for school but at least I'd be there. Less suspicion. I suddenly remembered our emergency hideaway money that was hidden in the basement. I went and got it, the total being about seven thousand dollars in cash. A lot of money but Travion and Summer said that it would come in handy if they ever had to leave. 

I suddenly remembered that I might have to snipe…I ran back inside and got our Remington sniper rifle. I was an excellent shot with it. Only missed four targets behind four hundred yards in my entire life. Travion and Summer both agreed that gun-shooting and math were my two main talents. 

I made straight A's in math. My lowest grade in math on my report cards in my life was a 94…it just wasn't hard me…strange, I know… But then again, there are people that are like that when it comes to English and I hate English…

I got into the Gallant, started it and went down our driveway…Torin's car wasn't there. They must've come back to clean up…they probably thought I wasn't here… I thought it about it for a second and shrugged it off. 

I made a left and in a few minutes reached the main road, turning right there. About another ten miles down the road, there was an intersection. I made a right there, turning into town…thoughts about the night before came into my mind. Torin and I watching the sunset…the rain…

I slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road, getting a couple of car honks from nearby drivers…if they thought I was gone when they got rid of Torin's car, why didn't they just come up to the house and look around? Why didn't they clean up all the bodies in the other room? Why didn't they get the truck and Travion and the guy whose neck I broke…?

I was confused. Something was wrong. I looked in my rear view…no cars that had been behind me earlier in the day were there now. I wasn't being followed…so why didn't they come up to the house?? It didn't make any sense…

I'll figure it out, I decided. The solution would hit me eventually…I pulled back into the lane and went down another few hundred yards down the road and over a hill…and the school came into view. The parking lot was full, the school quiet but not on the inside. 

My watch read 9:47. 

I pulled into the parking lot and got out, walking over to the trunk and pulling a Glock from the 'Armory'. I activated the alarm system we installed on the car and walked toward the school, expertly putting the Glock into my pants without it being seen by anybody near by.

I was still well-trained; just because we thought the past was behind us, Travion, Summer, and I still worked hard at being better shots, pickpockets, lock pickers, etc. Things that were illegal but lifesaving if our past caught up with us…and also if you needed some extra cash or something like that…

I smiled but with the smile came tears.

I fought them off, not letting one spill from my eyes. I reached the school doors and walked inside. I checked in with the office and they let me go to the end of second period. Instead of going there, I just went to the bathroom and waited for the bell to ring…in a few ever-lasting minutes it did. I stepped outside, not bothering to go to my locker, and went to my third period class, which was Pre-Calculus; I wouldn't need my book for that anyway.

I planned on doing nothing all day. Just making sure that my face was seen, my presence known. I kept the Glock in an easy-to-access position throughout the day. 

During lunch I hid in a corner, avoiding Elise and Delia. I couldn't face them. Not without blurting something that I would regret, or that they would feel guilty about knowing without telling the authorities…no, neither my friends nor the cops can know about…what's happened…

It seemed like the day was going by in slow motion. Every class seemed to last about ten hours instead of one. Until seventh period…that class was exactly what I needed.

I was one of the top athletes in the school; out of girls **and** guys. There were only a few people better than I was but I my biggest competition was a guy named Alex. He was buff, strong, a little like Torin but Alex's smile rarely faded. 

Since I was good, Coach Grey moved me up into the top class of athletics. We went to the weight room twice a week and ran three days a week…and everyday got harder and harder. About once or twice a month though, the class I was in had to eat lunch alone, secluded from the rest of the school. It was weird but Coach Grey said it built teamwork.

Coach Grey was a strange person, I thought. You see, we would eat the once-a-month lunch thing and for the next couple weeks after that, Coach would put us not just through running and weight room, he'd make us face entire football teams. For instance, one time, about three days after we ate that special lunch, he put the whole football team on one end of the field, with pads, and then Grey put the top five athletes on the other end of the field, without pads. He said that they had to get through the team to the other side. There were also little tripwires everywhere and other little booby traps that were strategically placed around the field. 

Only Alex did it. Alex…he had a crush on me. It was so obvious and very…horrific…

I smiled at the memory…that was a fun day…

I changed into my workout clothes and ran out to the track. Alex and the other athletes, Rosy, Gregg, and Jonathan were already out there, stretching. 

For some reason, Alex was silent. Very unusual. I stretched too, enjoying the pain in my legs and arms. Pain was an emotion, something fake that our mind made up to take our minds off of our real lives…at least, that's what I think. 

Coach Grey was suddenly in our little group, saying, "Today is a fun day."

We all knew what that meant. Today we should be going to the weight but every now and then he says on weight room days, 'it's a fun day' and that meant something hard was coming. 

He continued, "At the end of last year, you fives' EOC was the football field and team against you." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the football team running out to the field, laughing at what was to come. They were excited about it…so was I. Another chance to prove myself…another time to take the pain. 

Rosy looked at me. She was a very good runner, that being the main reason she made this group. She was worried. I remembered last year, she went home with a bloody nose and a jacked-up arm from the test…I went home with a couple nasty bruises but it was worth the fun.

The test was back and I was going to very much enjoy it…very much so. 

"Alright. Like last year, there are traps set up on the field. But this time, they're a lot more complicated." He lowered his tone, spoke a few words to Rosy and a sigh of relief whooshed across her face. She was exempted. Probably so the school wouldn't get a lawsuit from her parents. But as for the rest of us…, "You know what to do," Grey said, "Get on the field and when I blow the whistle, **get to the other side!**"

The adrenaline was already beginning to come. I enjoyed the feeling as we jogged onto the field at the goal line…the football team was lined up, ready to come after us. Alex got close to me and just before the whistle blew, he said, "I'll cover your back." I looked at him and said quietly, "You cover my back and I break yours." And the whistle came.

I sprinted as fast as I could, adrenaline pumping through me. I could see Coach Grey watching the events take place. About the time I hit the fifty-yard line, I hit the wave of football players. I dodged left and then right, jumping off of somebody's shoulder and into the air…time slowed for a few seconds…and then I hit the ground and rolled. 

I got up as fast as I could and took off for the end of the field, about thirty-five yards to go. I can do it, I can do it, I can—

BAM! I was tackled from behind, the dirt suddenly up in my face. I wriggled out of the football players' grip and got to my feet and—duck! I hit the ground and two people smashed into each other, a third person that had been in coming in midair towards me flew over me and into them. I got back to my feet and sprinted to the end as fast as I could…I was almost there when my foot suddenly couldn't come up and just before I hit the ground, the word **tripwire** entered my head. 

I looked behind me to see three football players coming after me. In less than two seconds they'd reach me…and then it happened for the first time. Everything went in super slow motion, numbers everywhere, swirling around everything around me…math so complicated that I'd never seen it before yet I knew what it meant…

The tripwire! I grabbed the wire and pulled it from it away from the ground. I spun around, breaking it away from the rest of the booby trap, creating a very thin wire. Just after the spin was complete, I hit the ground, everything flowing so fluidly that it seemed planned, synchronized…then I followed with the rest of the plan that the numbers had decided. I snapped the wire out and through the facemask of one of the players. It scraped across his face and he fell, his fingers clutching at his face. 

I did it to the two other guys and they both fell to the ground, literally screaming as the thin wire cut into their face like a whip…

And as fast as it started, it was over. It took me a second but then I turned and ran the last ten yards to the end of the field…

I heard Coach Grey yell from across the field that I could go in. I did so…not one word coming to my mind about what had happened…


	27. Waste

Asazi ****

DISCAIMERS: Just a reminder that I don't own Action Man (great show J ); it belongs to…uh…another company (can't believe I forgot). The lyrics of "Waste" belong to Staind; I just changed a couple words and I'm just merely using them for entertainment purposes. I'm not making any money off a this so lemme awone…and if you're going to sue me, read my fic first. J 

Asazi

__

Chapter 27

The bell rang and I left the locker room, heading for the parking lot. I was trying to figure what had happened to me a few moments ago… The swirling numbers, the plan that **I **chose and successfully completed… How did I do that?

It's never happened before. Never. It didn't happen at the end of last year, it didn't happen at any of our practices, it didn't happen **ever**…

I reached the Gallant, glanced around, opened the trunk to make sure everything was there, and then got into the car and started the engine…

It didn't start. 

What the…man, not **now**. I have to get out of here and the car breaks down… I got out and popped the hood, examining the engine. Nothing looked wrong. But what was this…I leaned down and found that a wire attached to the battery was cut away and another one was tied to the battery in its place. I carefully followed the red wire; it plunged down to under the car and I could see that it went—I could see a small, red, flashing light faintly shining on part of the car… A bomb!

With widened eyes, I ran around to the other side of the car, opened the trunk as fast as I could, got as much of the 'Glock Armory' into a somewhat large duffel bag and started jogging away from the car…I don't know how far I was from it or when it blew up, I just know that when it did, the explosion lifted me from the ground and flung me into the another car.

Pain was all over me, especially my left arm…I glanced at it and almost screamed. My arm was through the windshield of the car I was flung upon. I noticed blood was all over the windshield as I felt some trickling down my face and all over my clothes. 

Slowly and carefully, I pulled my arm out and away from the windshield but it was slicing up my arm…, "AAA," I cried as another shard slit a blood vessel. Out of anger and pain, I raised my other arm and crushed the already-cracked windshield, it breaking apart and falling away from my bloody arm. Feeling pain that I haven't felt in years, tears broke through a dam that I've had built for years and dripped down my face.

I sensitively cradled my arm that was soaked in my own blood. Sirens could be heard in the distance but I couldn't be taken in; I would have to explain the duffel bag and there was no explanation that would get me out of that…

A feeling began to slowly surfeit me…a feeling of determination…I grabbed the duffel bag with my good arm, and carefully stuck my carnaged arm inside my jacket, hiding it from anyone suspecting me. I stole back into the school and went for the nearest bathroom. 

I found one and checked to make sure no one was in there. I got up on the sink counter and stuck my duffel bag through one of the tiles in the ceiling. Then I slowly climbed down and pulled my arm out of my jacket. My shirt was stained with blood and the insides of my coat were crimson. 

I checked my pockets for any kind of medical supplies and realized that I had none in my duffel bag or on me…Stupid, stupid, stupid…you bring weapons but you don't bring bandages. I'm way too cocky… I sighed as I looked at my arm. The bleeding was only minor now but I could only see the skin on my arm in a few places. I could see pieces of the windshield all over my arm and deep inside. I definitely need help. I started pulling the pieces out, one-by-one; wincing at the pain but at the same time, knowing it had to be done… I didn't hold back the tears that now overpowered me. What was the point in hiding them when they're going to inevitably come?

It seemed to last forever. Shard by shard, hands bloodied, the pain…

A demon of negativity came to me as my clouded head's defenses were down… Why not just end it now? End the pain, the **suffering**, the killing, the times that were stolen, the memories… Finish yourself… I slowly held a shard with shaking hands to my wrist…it wouldn't take much. I'd already lost a lot of blood and another cut would probably just end it for me… 

End it…it's okay…

I seemed to say it to myself over and over again…

"**NO**!" I slammed the shard into the sink, climbed up and got the duffel bag and was gone. I left the bathroom and as I left, as I got farther from the glass, the motivation, the will to be strong seemed to return.

You will survive. You did it **before, you will DO IT AGAIN!** I'm older, I'm wiser, I'm an even better shot, I can't be deceived…I will survive.

I **will** survive…

I left the school, going out the side of it to the other parking lot, walked to the nearest car that looked like it might be fast and in a few seconds, was inside and hotwiring it. Another few seconds and I was off…driving to who-knew-where, trying to keep my thoughts—and my arm—together…

-_-

Sitting on a hill up on a nearby mountain, I knew what I had to do…

I had to go. Had to leave. Had to drive away from my life, the returned horror, the deaths…was I going to run? Was I going to run and hide?

…No, that wouldn't solve anything. They found us after we hid for years. I had to go back and fight. Had to return to the criminal underworld of hell and death. Had to finish them off, get revenge for killing...

Killing Travion and Summer? Should I get revenge for them? They told me everything would be all right, that it was finally over, that life would be **peaceful**… Should they be forgiven? They lied to me for years, after all my nightmares, experiences, after growing up… That's why they've been a little tense the past few days. 

Something was up and they didn't even tell me that it could've been something from the past! They completely deceived me. 

The suicidal thoughts slowly returned. Everybody deceives me! Why do I even live when I can't trust anybody? Why…?

Slowly, somehow, as always, when something bad happens, I started writing my own poetry or song…

__

Did Travion not love me? Or did he love me just too much? Did he control me? 

Did Summer live through me at my cost? Did she leave no questions for me to answer on my own?

Well **fuck** them, and **fuck** her, and **fuck** him, **and fuck you**, for not having the strength in your heart to pull through

I've had doubts, I have failed, I've fucked up, I've had plans, doesn't mean I should take my life with my own hands…

Idly, I thought about it…and sluggishly, I fell asleep, my thoughts ending on one last line…

__

But these words…they don't replace…the life you, the life you waste…

Suicide gets you know where…neither does violence…but I was going to anyway… It'll only hurt me more but as far as I was concerned, my life was already wasted…

-_-

I awoke with the sun streaming down on my face. A few stratus clouds in the sky but other than that, it looked like a blue horizon. A seemingly peaceful day…not for long. I got to my feet and started walking back down the small mountain I was on. I heard a plane in the distance and in a few minutes it flew over me. It was a small, nice place that looked like it could fit a family in it. If I had one, I'd go back to Miami, back to the ghetto…surprise some old enemies and **take them down**.

I reached the bottom of the mountain in another half-hour and started back toward town, leaving the stolen car where it was. I was about an hour from where I **used** to live but I wasn't going back. I was going to steal a car in the little city that was a couple miles down the highway, then drive to Miami, find some money and some guns, and make sure that if someone wants to kill me, I'll waste them first.

I reached the highway and started walking toward town. I passed a sign that read "Mulberry 3". Just three miles… I sighed and continued walking. No point in slowing down and speeding up; I'd reach there before the day was over. 

A few minutes later, I heard a semi-truck slowing down behind me. I slowly turned around, keeping my horribly painful arm inside my coat. The semi pulled up next to me, the driver, an older guy with a cigarette in his mouth and some classic rock playing in the radio, shouted, "Ya' need uh ride somewhere yung lady?" His accent was thick with Texas but I could understand.

"No thanks; I'm just going to Mulberry," I shouted back.

He hesitated, then shouted, "'Er ya' sure?"

I thought for a second…it'd help make the day go slower…more time to think and plan… "All right," I shouted and climbed into the truck. It was actually quite different from what I thought it would be; it had a small bunk bed behind the seats, almost a very small apartment. The bunk bed had some puffy sleeping bags and there was also a small fridge behind my seat. 

"Ya' hungry," he asked as we picked up speed.

I shook my head no, ignoring my complaining stomach. "No, not really." 

He shrugged and turned his eyes back to the road. I noticed his right hand reaching out and grabbing some illegal caffeine pills and slipping them in under his chair. I obviously noticed and he smiled, saying, "Cain't do it wit'out 'em." 

I smiled and showed that I didn't care. 

I opened my coat to where my arm was concealed to him but I could check it out. It seemed okay but I wasn't sure if…no, I wasn't bleeding. It had all dried out; now it just had to heal. 

I then heard a voice, a hoarse whisper in my right ear. "If you don't want to lose that arm all together, I would recommend slowly raising your arms up and touchin' the ceiling with them, palms up." I hesitated and then felt the lifeless steel of a blade under my armpit. "I wasn't kidding," came the whisper again. I complied and the figure stepped out from behind my seat and grinned at me. 

He was young, probably nineteen or twenty, very handsome but…he was obviously one of the bad guys…not like I wasn't or anything like that. 

His hands traveled to my hair, fluffing it out and making sure nothing was hidden in it. His hands slowly traveled down to my neck, checking the little necklace that I wear everywhere. Then his hands traveled down to my chest…and very slowly checked under and in between my breasts. Very slowly. I flinched and he noticed, smiling. 

After another minute of that, his hands went down to my waist, then down each leg and checked my shoes. When he was done frisking me, he pulled a radio out of his leather coat and said, "She's clear."

He then looked at me and shook his head. "We can have more fun later but…for now, I'm afraid that not having a weapon wasn't too smart, especially after what happened…let's see…a day or two ago?"

I shrugged and said, "Touch me like that again, and I'll kill you." 

He only laughed for a second and then there was a sudden flash of black…just before his elbow made contact with my face. Everything went black.

****

Author's No**te**

Sweet surprises are coming up y'all…no, I don't mean anything bad by that, I just mean that there's about to be a lot of ACTION, a lot of PLOT TWISTS, a lot of OLD FRIENDS, and, of course, A NEW FIC! Yupperz folks. I am soon to be posting a brand new fic…with a couple days of posting this chapter…so keep an eye out for it. It's entitled "Wasteland" and it's gonna be great (hopefully…J ). Anyway, see y'all around. E-mail me if you want to talk, aw'ight?


	28. Lust's Death

**Author's Note**: This chapter is a little explicit and it used to be R but I re-edited it to bring it down to Pg-13.  I attempted to keep the detail low while keeping the reader informed of what was happening.  

Asazi

_Chapter 28_

I woke up. That was really all there was to say. I woke up and unenclosed my eyes; I was blindfolded. My hearing told me there was a minimum of two people in whatever I was. I tried to move my arms but they and my legs were roped down to the bed I was lying on. I was secured; no way out and definitely favorable for me to keep quiet. 

My abdomen felt like we were moving…it transpired to me that we were in the truck that I had vapidly gotten into. I listened closely to the two voices. One was the heavily accented Texan driver, the other the guy that knocked me out. "So much longer until we hit Florida," asked one of the voices, the callow assaulter. 

"Oh I reckon another hour 'r so. We been makin' pretty good time on this 'n," the driver replied; it sounded like he was chewing on something, probably beef jerky or tobacco. "Good," said the opposite guy. "After we hit the Florida state line, you pull—''

"Over to the ner'est rest are'ya and you've got it from there. I get me cash then, ain't that right?" 

Florida? So they're heading to Florida, with me in the trunk—in this case, truck. How very clever and thoughtful that they'd take me there instead make me make my way across the country. I'm gonna enjoy this once I get outta here.

The man didn't say anything but the trucker said, "Alright then. Sounds like things are still working like they were supposed too." The other sighed; obviously hinting the driver to just shut his trap and do his job. The driver didn't say anything else. 

I pulled up with all the strength I had but the ropes didn't give away; they just clawed away at my soft skin. The man must've noticed my movement because I heard a seat belt unbuckle and the motion of someone getting up and coming towards me. Uh oh, I thought, remembering what he had done when he had frisked me before rendering me insentient. "Ah! May the gods be awaken for thine eyes have been exposed to the greatest sight of the world at hand," said the wannabe Romeo guy. "Could you gangs be any more stupid than the goats you have sex with at your hideouts?" I heard the rig driver obviate a laugh

I felt the man's breath on my face and he whispered, "You calling me an animal—''

I cut him off, not letting him finish his sentence. "Nah, ya' think?" 

SLAP!

The blow came from my right; my head flying to the left, as far as it could with my shoulders tied to the bed. The pain wasn't that bad; the man didn't really slap me as hard as he could have…which meant he wanted me to like him a little bit, even though I was his captive on a truck heading for his boss's haven. They're all the same; they want the girl to accept them, even though they treat us like we're the slaves we aren't. That's just the way it is for us girls…but not for me. I am **so** gonna kill him once I get outta this.

"Say…if I don't recall legitimately, you were trying you're best to conceal a smile while I was frisking you…I do believe that means you were enjoying it." I felt his hand grab me and stuffed my cringe. I wiggled my feet and groaned a little bit; the rope around my feet was lose. "I think that means I remembered right," he said. He took off my blindfold and I could see around me. It was dark in this part of the truck but I could distinctly make out the man and where I was. I was on the top berth of the bunk bed that was in the back of the cabin of the truck. Suddenly his hands reached down and there was a quick glint of a blade. The next thing I head was fabric ripping apart and then the rope around my feet was gone. Then I looked down at me and that I was exposed to him, my shirt in shreds all over the place and the rope around my feet was on the floor. I knew what he was planning on doing but I also quickly molded a contrive in my head; escape was going to be easy. This man was obviously a rookie in the game and he would pay for it with his life. 

In a couple minutes, I was nude. Everything but my legs were strapped down so I was still quite stuck but all I need is two free limbs. The man now looked anxious and a second after feasting his eyes upon me, his tongue was all over my chest. I acted like I was enjoying it and I noticed the driver watching with a little mirror he had just set up. 

He started to get on top of me and I immediately reached up with my legs and closed them in around his neck.  I squeezed his neck as hard as I could, cutting off his air, asphyxiating him. After his hands came and started to pry my legs away, I pulled a knee up on one side of his jaw and said, "Hope you learned your lesson." I then pushed my knee against his jaw as hard as I could, twisting his head around, breaking his neck…

His body stopped and his arms went flaccid. I let his body fall to the floor and started to wiggle out of the now-deceased neophyte's ropes. Within a few seconds I was free but something suddenly occurred to me. The driver wasn't doing anything. He wasn't reacting to anything I had done; he didn't seem surprised or…anything; just nonchalant, as if what I had done wasn't anything new to him. 

"In case you're wondering," he suddenly said, "that accent was a phony." 

I nodded, smiling. "I thought so. You weren't going to let him go all the way with me, were you?" He shook his head, "Only if you weren't going to fight back at least a little. That's why I was watching. If you were going to struggle and lose, I'd would help, but if you weren't even going to try…"

"Thanks. You're a wise person…now, whose side are you on?"

"I'll answer your questions once you put your clothes back on, Asazi." 

He knows my name, he's…hopefully on my side, and he would've helped if I couldn't have done it myself…a wise man…yeah right. He was probably just trying to get me to trust him so I could be tricked into working for the wrong people. We'll see how much he knows first.

I picked up my clothes and started to get dressed. The man had completely torn up my shirt; the shreds were all over the floor, as well as my bra. Oh well, it didn't really matter. The driver had already seen me naked. I put my underwear and jeans back on, as well as my socks and shoes. I felt kind of strange, not wearing anything on top but I didn't have much of a choice. I crossed my chest with my arms when I sat down in the passenger seat. 

"He tore up my shirt," I said, when he gave me a 'are you crazy' look. He then nodded and said, "Alright. There should be a change of clothes that belong to you in the back, under the bottom bunk of that bed. They came straight from your house so I imagine they fit you."

I didn't show my surprise as I climbed back into the back and found a little suitcase full of stuff from my house…including a Glock, several full clips. I quickly put on a shirt and sat back down in the passenger seat. "Alright, what do you know? Who are you working for?"

He sighed and said, "For starters, I work for a man named Ethan. He was in close relations with a few people that I'm sure you have dreams about but we'll get to that later. Ethan heard about the hit at your house, already—I don't know how—knew about your past and sent several men to go retrieve you. He said that you would be a valuable asset and knew you would come back to Miami since Travion and Summer—your adoptive parents if I was told right." I sat back in my seat…, "But that would mean that 'Ethan' would've always known where we were hiding." The man stayed focused on the road while he talked. "Actually, everybody knew where you all had been hiding. It wasn't hard to follow you—I'll explain how we did later. Anyway…we let Travion and Summer train you with the gun so you'd get better but we…our turf had a guy working for gang and word leaked out about where you were. Knowing that you were talented with shooting since you were six…the bomb was ticking and it went off a couple days ago."

I looked down at the floor. I was **never** safe…we'd never even gotten away from Miami. Lament came to my eyes; I don't why, they just did. Everything seemed so perfect, especially with…with Torin. But it wasn't…we were probably being watched; our every move, our every date, our every _moment…_ Why couldn't they just leave us alone… The question ran through my head a million times…until the tears turned into a small sadness…then the sadness turned into confusing anger…and then the anger turned into rage. 

I got this feeling that something wasn't right so I got back up and got the Glock and clips from the suitcase. When I started to turn around—_chink!_ The sound that triggered all sorts of reactions inside my head…none of which I did. The cold steel of the barrel told me to drop the Glock and ammo, slowly, without any problems. Without any problems…**forget** that! I swung my arm around as fast as I could, my elbow hitting the pistol off course just as it fired—**BLAM**!!—into the wall behind me. "NO, dammit," cried the driver. I quickly slipped the Glock into waist and the clips into my pockets, dropping one of the clips because I was hurried. 

"Just goes to show," I said just before kicking him in the head, "that you can't trust nobody, not even yourself." I kicked him in the ear, my shoe scraping part of his ear from his head. He cried out in pain and the truck went off the highway. There was a sign straight in front of us; I caught a glimpse of it just before we hit it, 'Welcome to Florida' it said, an orange on one side of the state's name and the ocean on the other. The truck careened back onto the road but not without an accident; a car that had been in the right lane was knocked into a little Dodge in the left lane, which skidded off the road and into dip in between roads. The truck flew up onto the other side of the road, hitting a car causing the truck to flip over the car and into the trailer of a semi. The car crashed into the semi's left side and was crushed underneath its back tires. My eyes traveled back to the road we were on, just in time to see the driver pulling a gun from his waist and aiming it back at me. I dove behind his seat, bullets tearing up the floor where I was standing. I looked up and saw a sign that said 'Rest Area 1 Mile'; crap, that meant that we were a mile from whoever it was that wanted me enough to kill and ruin my perfect life. 

An arm came from the driver's seat, a pistol in the hand. The driver fired blindly, missing me completely but I rolled away, so my leg could kick the pistol away from his hand. The pistol flew above his head and I jumped up to it and landed on the steering wheel—not quite what I had planned. The driver's eyes went wild when he looked past me and—EEEEEEERRRRRRRRRR!! VROOOMM, VROOOMM! I was thrown backwards, my back getting launched into the windshield, little pieces of glass getting stuck in it. The truck wasn't done going all over the place; the driver swerved to his left and I flew back into the passenger door. It was insecure and it blew open as I hit it. My hands somehow grabbed onto the door, causing my mutilated arm to erupt in agony. I cried out as I tried to hold onto the door but I wasn't going to last. The door was swinging wildly because of the wind and me but I managed to get my legs onto the fuel tank protruding from the flatbed truck. I then let go of the door and grabbed rope that was holding down the flatbed's supplies and pulled myself onto the flatbed. 

I saw the driver look in the side mirror and his face showed anger. I started to go down to the other end of the flatbed when suddenly, the brakes on the truck screamed a high-pitch and I flew onto the hood of the car behind me. I cried out in pain; my bad arm and back had cushioned my hit. My body rolled on and over the windshield onto the roof of the car. My right arm grabbed a hold of the car's sunroof, keeping me from splattering all over the road and car behind me. My entire body was shouting pain, pain but the adrenaline surging through me suddenly—

The numbers again! The world turned colors and the mathematics started swirling in my head. I somehow knew what was happening and the numbers chose different paths to get out of the plight I was in…it took about one-and-a-half seconds but I chose an explication and followed through with it…hoping it would save my life…

**Author's Note**

Hehe, cliffhanger. Hehehehehehehehe… By the way, my new fic Wasteland hasn't gotten hardly any reviews at all. Come on people, I know it sounds weird but trust me, it's gonna turn out to be an awesome story. 


	29. Warren

Asazi

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Chapter 29

The world turned colors and the mathematics started swirling in my head. I somehow knew what was happening and the numbers chose different paths to get out of the plight I was in…it took about one-and-a-half seconds but I chose an explication and followed through with it…hoping it would save my life…

I pulled my body with all my strength and propelled myself onto the car's hood, my feet landing flat on the hood and my back parallel with the windshield so it didn't hurt as bad when it hit. While in the air, I grabbed the Glock and right after landing I raised my arm and fired three shots—all of them hits. One blew apart one of the ropes holding the flatbeds cargo—which was a bunch of wooden, locked crates—causing it to fly off the flatbed right by the car I was on. While taking the second shot, I motioned whoever the driver was of the red car I was on to go into the left lane. They took the hint and swerved over; they were panicked, but panic makes your senses a lot more acute. 

My second shot blew out one of the back tires and the third hit another rope that was holding more boxes down. They flew back into another car and others all over the road. The truck careened off the road and into the forest, followed by several sparks from friction somewhere on the truck…which caused it to explode into a huge fireball. I felt the heat of it on my face and winced at the sudden brightness of the flames…then I remembered that I was on the hood of a car going seventy miles-an-hour down the interstate in Florida. I slipped the Glock back into my waist and looked back at the car I was on. 

Seeing an exit in the distance and a sign saying that the rest area was on the next right, I took my time and being as careful as I could, I climbed into the car through the already-down passenger window. The driver was a young guy with the butt of a gun sticking out of his pocket. His eyes were wild as he looked at me and he somehow knew that I knew what he was. 

His voice was shaky as he spoke. "I-I-I'm no-t-t-t-t gonna-a do any-y-ything to you-u-u." 

I nodded, reaching for the gun in his pocket and gently pulling it out. He was there back up, in case I somehow got out of or away from the truck. Apparently, my stunt scared the shit out of him and he wasn't about try and capture someone who's insane enough to do what I had done. "You're a smart guy," I said nonchalantly, then pushed my abruptly present Glock into his ear, "let's keep it that way…okay?" He nodded and sped the car up to eighty miles an hour. 

We passed the rest area that looked a little more full than most rest areas…the guy drove, I watched him and the cars around me…

It occurred to me a few minutes later that the guy might try to pull something later so I knew I had to get him on my side, at least for awhile. "You know who I am," I asked. He jumped when I spoke but replied with a somewhat steady voice. "Yes…yes I-I do. You're Asazi, the legend that took out Brink, alone, not to mention dodged all the other gangs, especially what used to be Miami United." I almost laughed; "Miami United…I always thought that was one of the dumbest names I've ever heard." 

The guy glanced at me, and then back at the road…I had disturbed him with what I said. "Miami United was originally a peace-keeping group, determined to destroy the gangs and pathetic people that don't belong here in the world. I was one of them. The name's Warren, by the way." Oops! Shouldn't have gone there…too late now, might as well start asking questions…try to find out what idiot asshole is out to get me after all these years. "What do you mean 'was originally a peace-keeping group'. Those assholes went after me when I was six-years-old, trying to kill me a number of times before I'd even become a freaking teenager. Don't give me any bullshit on you trying to be peace-keeping group."

"No, you don't understand," he replied tranquilly, "We wanted to get rid of those that were causing grief to Miami, and once finished with Miami, we would spread to other big cities and take over those ones. We'd expel the crap and eventually, we'd be a world organization, keeping the peace by destroying those that disrupt it." 

"So when you say 'what used to be Miami United'…they're gone, right?" No way this whole trip was caused by somebody that heard about me and decided to find me and use me…no way…there has to be something, someone that **knows** me to hit me that hard… Another question came to mind so I asked it, "What wasted the almighty 'Miami United'? I mean, what happened to it; you spoke as if it fell apart." He sighed and responded, "It **did** fall apart…our leader was undercover in another gang and only a few of us knew that he was; he was the right-hand-man of another—our biggest enemy—gang's leader… Anyway, one day, a bunch of the more lowly Miami United guys got together and went after our under-guy and…to put it straightly, they wasted him. Tore him apart…literally…"

FLASH!

—Xynan started laughing. "Miami United??? That's the dumbest gang name I've ever heard. You are—"

BAM! Brink's fist slammed into Xynan's forehead

The knife came down and sliced open Xynan's belly. His insides began to flow out as Xynan yelled in pain. Brink pulled his knife halfway through Xynan's waist…, "This is how Timothy died. String! String so thin that it **cuts through you before you even notice**. Well…we didn't have any…so **this** is what my **brother FELT!**"

Brink brought the knife all the way through Xynan, separating his torso from his legs. "AAAAAAAAAA," Xynan screamed…and a few seconds later he lost consciousness. Brink snorted and—

FLASH!

"So anyway, our leader was killed by our own people, a huge misunderstanding. They…if only Brink would've known that he had been our leader."

I gasped. My breathing was almost cut short. **Brink**…someone I hadn't thought about for a long time…, "Are you saying that Brink ripped apart his own leader, without even knowing it?"

The guy nodded gravely, saying, "He also wasted his girlfriend, who's name you've taken. Asazi."

I tried to stay calm, tried to show that this wasn't affecting me but—

FLASH!

Brink stepped up to Asazi's face and whispered, "—he killed **my** only family." Brink took a step back and said, "Do you have any family, Asazi?"

She didn't answer. She just stared at Xynan's fallen body. Stared until tears came. Brink laughed and said something that I couldn't hear because of everyone's evil laughter. Asazi was suddenly on the floor…I closed my eyes and listened to her screams and moans of horror. Asazi and I were the same, just as Brink and I were the same—

FLASH! 

Finally it hit me… Asazi was the boyfriend of the leader of Miami United, a guy that was undercover, **working for his own gang**…and he was killed by his own clan for working undercover… No wonder **he** seemed so confused… 

**Xynan**… 

My hatred for Brink was caused by a misconception of his own coterie…Xynan, horribly betrayed and yet…not betrayed… "But Brink said that Xynan had killed his family…did he?"

"No…that was another gang that set it up to make it look like it had been Xynan and the gang he was undercover in." Something isn't right…oh! Didn't…, "Didn't Xynan say that he was gonna kick Miami United's ass?" 

The man replied, "Yeah, because he thought that it was a joke to see how he'd react if his house was ever surrounded…sorta like a training thing."

So Xynan was killed for leading his own gang to peace… No…wait a minute…that can't be right. Xynan was **killing** to get rid of the killers…that would mean he would've had to kill himself, because he too was a monster…**and so am I…** I sat in silence for awhile, thinking deeply, knowing that something just didn't seem right. 

Warren spoke again, "There are a couple of us that think Xynan survived…some say that they never killed Asazi but…I know that she's dead…I saw her body. One reason a lot of people think that Xynan survived is because around an hour after Asazi and he were supposedly killed, we went to his house because he didn't answer a phone call and…well, his body wasn't there and Asazi's was…a knife right through the back of her neck and out the front of—''

FLASH!

They raped Asazi and then, when Brink was done, he stabbed Asazi in the back of the neck, the tip of the blade showing at the front of her throat. I silently cried. And to think that I was planning to live this kind of life. To kill others just so I could have **my** revenge…

Asazi and Xynan were both dead. 

I noticed, as the gangs left whooping and hollering in the **happiness** of their victory, that the man who'd seen me was whispering into Brink's ear…I only cried for a few—

FLASH!

Again, another flash of light and I had remembered another few gruesome seconds of the torture that Brink and the possibly** good guys** had done… 

I shook my head and knew that something wasn't right. Or maybe something's right and I'm trying to figure out what it might lead to…

And **then** it clicked.

"Xynan **is **alive!"

Warren looked at me with a look on his face that said 'I wish but…' 

"No, you don't understand. He's the only person that could've known where I was, and he must've thought that Travion and Summer had stolen me away from Miami and after so many years, he sent people out to see if I was alive…" No…that's not right either…that couldn't be right…because his men would've known that I was happy from the way I was around Travion and Summer…

The guy shook his head and said, "No, it was the gang I'm in now that found you and went after you." He said it quietly, as if afraid to add something but…was afraid to say it… Then he said it…, "You were there, weren't you? You watched Asazi and Xynan die." 

"Yes," I replied, my voice a hoarse whisper as I recalled everything, in a vivid text…, "I was hiding behind a bookcase, and from my outlook, I was able to watch almost everybody and everything that happened…it wasn't…" I just stopped, not wanting to remember any more than what I already had. "Why the hell **didn't** you do anything so save him," Warren suddenly roared. "**Why** didn't you start taking them out as they came into the room, why—''

"Because he told me to go hide and I was in love with him then so I did what I was told so why don't you just **fuck off**!"

He did. The silence hurt us both, how it hurt him I don't know, why he even cared I don't know…I just know that it had been horrible experience, like my life… Like the mystery that now beheld me in it's arms and my thoughts…it's amazing what a conversation can turn into…at first, I just wanted to persuade him to help me out until we got to Miami and now look where we are… There's a connection between us… "Do you know who found me out, or where he got the information," I asked quietly. He said quietly, "**No**…but I **swear** it on my life that if you will help me find Xynan and I'll help you do whatever you need to do—whether or not Xynan's alive…"

I looked at Warren and almost smiled. I'm not completely sure but…I think…I think I can trust him…I **hope** I can trust him…

****

Author's Note

Hey. Just to let you know, the 5th chapter of Wasteland was posted. It's an okay story so far, others like it. Just give it a try, read the first two chapters and tell me what you think about it, whether or not you like it. Thanks for reading Asazi and thanx to all those that have reviewed my stories—you keep me going in life and my flame for these crazy things. 


	30. Love and Blood

****

Important Author's Note: This chapter is rated "R". This being the 30th chapter of my story, it's gonna be a special one; lot's of action, lot's of drama, lot's of secrets coming out from the past, lot's of surprises, and it's **extra long!** So enjoy, feast your eyes upon Asazi's 30th chapter. Thanx for reading this story and please let me know what you think about it. J 

Asazi

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Chapter **30**

Somehow, as the hours of driving dragged on, Warren and I made a connection with each other…I don't know how to describe how it felt; I just knew that I could trust him. At first I took a chance, giving him his gun back at our first gas stop and then acted like I wasn't paying any attention to him—he didn't make a phone call, he didn't pull a stunt, and he even bought me something… And in the sincerity of his eyes, I just knew I could trust him. He was like Torin, one in a million that you just know, from the moment you start to talking to them, that they were not only honest, but **trustworthy**…

Now we both trusted each other, telling each other about **everything **we've been through…I told him about Xynan, Asazi, my parents…Uncle…Uncle Shawn, what he did to me, what the guy in the truck did to me just earlier that day, **everything**… And when I told him my life's story, he and I were both in tears—me from my memories of Torin and how Warren reminded me of him, and Warren because he understood my suffering, my pain, my hurt…

And he told me his life's story. Everything about him. He was born in Boston Massachusetts. His mother and father weren't happily married and fought all the time, usually over stupid things like who was gonna cook dinner and every little thing that, in any possible way, would annoy the other spouse. It was pathetic; it was like me and Uncle Shawn…no matter what I did or he did, it annoy both me and him. But he was a child molester, a freak of nature, a jerk that didn't deserve any part of the life he was given…he not only blew his own life, he ruined mine too. 

At the age of nine, Warren's dad was drunk and had seriously overdosed on drugs…Warren watched everything as his father raped his mom repeatedly, doing evil things over and over again like Shawn had done to me. After what Warren said was two hours of hell, Warren's dad started to get dizzy and started to go in and out of consciousness… His dad knew what was going to happen; he knew he had overdosed and he just laughed at it…

"He just laughed wickedly, saying things like death was only the beginning and freaky demon shit that only he would know about…and once he realized he was going to die, once he really accepted it…he was still high and drunk…he took a shotgun and shot my mom in the chest. She screamed really loud and he shot her in the leg and then he shot her in her…he blew her apart while she was alive and finally she lost consciousness and there was another shot and when I opened my eyes, there was nothing left but a huge mess of my mom's body all over the walls and I ran out of the house crying.

"Cops were coming because a neighbor had heard the gunshots and screams…about five or six minutes later the cops were there. Two cars, a motorcycle; five police ducking behind cars with their guns drawn and aiming at the front door. A megaphone said something like 'come out with your hands up'. A moment later, my dad stepped out and looked at the cops…and then heard the sirens in the distance…he took the shotgun and tried to put the barrel against his rib cage and he was about to pull the trigger when a cop discharged a gun, knocking the shotgun away. My father almost lost it right then and there. He stepped off the porch, starting towards the man who had fired. Then he stopped in the middle of the lawn and said, 'You fuckers would have to be a pretty good shot to stop **this**'…and he whipped a pistol out of his waist and shot himself in the head before anybody even saw him reach down."

I looked at Warren and his countenance said everything. He **wants** to die; he's not happy with his life, nor is he happy about anything else. He can't believe that these things happened to him. He knows they did but it's so hard to accept the fact that they did that he tries to hide it…like I did for awhile after retreating from Miami…

I put my arm out on his shoulder and squeezed gently. He looked at me with his glistening eyes, showing that he had nothing to hide…and he cried. A few minutes later, we pulled over and switched seats, me driving. 

The time ebbed away…

-_-

A few hours later, I took a deep breath as we officially passed my postern to hell. The city limits sign meant so little to some but a lot for a girl that started out here, that molded the beginnings—and what will probably be my ending—of my life. Miami…I never wanted to return here…but I'm here now. And it's about to begin…the beginning of my life's end. Why am I thinking that? Because I **know** that I can't make it out of here alive; I'm going to die in this city. I already died here once…Uncle Shawn murdered me that time. This time I'm gonna be murdered because **I'm** the killer, **I'm** the bitch that won't stop, **I'm** **back** and I'm **not** going to stop until I'm lying on a beach, sand in my gunshot wound and as my eyesight begins to fade. I control my destiny. No one else; they might influence and veer me off course, but I know that I'll get back there. **Nothing** will stop me until it's over…

Until it's over…

-_- 

It was sunset when we made it to an adequate hotel. It was something like…, "Hampton Garden Inn, eh? Looks fancy, don't you think? Are you sure you can pay for it?"

Warren looked at me as if I was from the sixties. "Asazi, you forget about the four years of mercenary work I did after losing Xynan's gang. I could be a Godfather if I wanted to." We laughed…actually, we giggled, then started laughing…and that little moment right there proved to both of us that any walls that were still there, had been broken down. 

We walked inside and the place was nice…so nice that it looked like one of those home and furniture magazines that some people buy. The floor was marble, a huge painting of a golden eagle across the floor; all the windows had silk curtains on the sides and the marble pillars were fantastic. All we could say—and did say—was, "Whoa."

I looked at Warren and said, "You sure?" He just laughed and said that it was nothing to do this. "We're friends and when you get enough money, we'll go across the nation like this. We'll nail gangs and then sleep in five-star hotels like this one…of course, tomorrow night we won't be sleeping here but, hey, let's worry about that tomorrow night." We walked up to the desk and while Warren handled the transactions, I scoped the place out, acting like an interested tourist. 

"Honey, please come here and meet this lovely person," Warren's voice suddenly said. I turned around to find both the lady behind the check-in desk and Warren looking at me, Warren winking his right eye and mouthing the word 'drunk'. I smiled and said, "Oh forgives me dearest women, I can't believe—," I took a step forward and acted bemused, falling onto Warren. He caught me and whispered to the registrar, "I'm sorry, I think she's had too much to drink." I got to my feet and said, "Oh baby, let's just do what we were talking about on the way here…after all, it **is **our honeymoon and you promised something erotic…," I laughed drunkenly. Then I started to pull up my shirt, saying, "**Take** me now, baby! Hurry—'' Warren's stifled laugh and the woman's shocked face were enough for the act; my shirt didn't get past my belly and Warren said, "Thanks for your business. See you tomorrow, check out time."

Warren dragged me around a corner, to the elevators, pushed a button, dragged me into one, and the second the doors closed, **busted** out laughing. He fell on the floor from laughing so hard, his face pure 'that was so insane'…

I laughed too, knowing that the clerk woman was extremely bewildered at what I had done. "That was so funny that I almost started laughing when I tripped into you," I said. "I meant for you to act but not do it **that** well," he replied, still laughing. I laughed until tears came to my eyes and I wiped them away. The elevator went 'ding' and the doors opened our eyes to the eighth floor. It was nice, the carpet a nice red color. "By the way," started Warren, once he was recovered from laughing, "we have a room for three days; they had some kinda' deal going on this month because they're business has been really weak lately and I figured I should take advantage of it." 

I smiled and said, "That's great…I just hope I don't get used to being treated like a queen. Can't soften up now, not this day and age." Warren smiled and stopped at room 819. It was a one-bed room but it also had a room attached to it that had two sofas, a TV and a balcony. "Wow," I commented, admiring the view of Miami from the windows. 

I picked up a pamphlet on a nightstand and flipped through it. "Hey, floors three and nine have lounges in them. I'm gonna go check it out." Warren looked at me and said, "Alright, I'll be up there was I bring in my stuff from the car. It's just a little bag so I don't need any help…go on up." 

I shrugged. "Okay, see you up there." I left the room and went to the elevator, and in a few minutes, was on the ninth floor, the highest floor in the building. I walked out of the elevator and found that the floor looked exactly like ours. I made a left and started wandering the hallways. When I made another left, the hall seemed to open up to me. The lounge wasn't a lounge; it was the size of a ballroom. One wall was just one big window, another wall was like a small snack area, with a coffeepot and other little things. The rest of the room was a bunch of sofas and tables, a pool table, a foosball table…all in all, it was pretty sweet. 

The lounge was dimly lit but I made it over to the windows without running into anything so I could look out upon the city. Amazing to think that every few seconds someone dies…I wonder how many people die every few minutes in Miami…probably not that many, officially…but off the record, when you count the criminal underworld, it's a lot more…

The beach was a little to the right of the view, the remnants of the pink sky being invaded by the blue and blackness of the night. The moon was starting to peek its way above the horizon…it was beautiful. The moon starting to rise with the last of the sun's orange flames of the sky decaying away… Hands, suddenly but very gently, glided around my waist, interlocking at my belly. "Beautiful isn't it," I commented, watching the stars languidly start to appear in the now-night sky. "Yeah," came Warren's voice, a whisper in my right ear. I felt something…I don't really know how to describe it…I felt safe, like I did when I was first Xynan and when I was with Torin the night he died. I felt…good…I was with someone trustworthy, in Miami about to go gun-ho on the asses that stole my life away… I knew I was going to die sometime soon, and yet it didn't really matter. I **did** care but…and then it hit me. It's not me being here in Miami…it's not me about to get revenge on those that nearly killed me and did in some ways…it's not being in a five-star hotel…

It's Warren.

With my right arm, I reached back, turned my head to the obverse point and with my arm pulled his head to mine, kissing him. I expected his hands to up on my chest but they didn't…he was kind, in so many more ways than he thought he was. I kissed him and kissed him until he broke away. His sad, depressed features just made me want to love him more than I already did but that was not possible…it hit me again. It's not **just** Warren either…I…I love him…I **love** him… He turned his head up and looked through the window, my eyes following his gaze into the night sky. The pink blazes were gone, replaced by a somewhat dark blue. 

I turned around and walked over to a sofa and started pulling it away from the wall it was against. Warren seemed to already know what I was doing and we…**we**…we picked it up and put it in front of the window…it made us vulnerable but nobody knew we were back in town and really…I don't think he—or me—cared about that… We sat in the sofa and watched the twinkling stars and the bruised moon as we lay there, Warren slowly brushing his hand through my arm, not even having to say what I knew he felt. 

I thought I had loved Torin when really, Torin could never understand my past…and if he had found out, he might've left me but Warren started out knowing my past, and me his. We had no secrets to start with…nor would we ever have any. 

I was sitting on his lap when I finally came to a decision. I turned around, facing him and leaned down to kiss him. We weren't gonna get caught; the clerk had said that business was bad lately… My hands went to my shirt, slowly easing it off and I looked down at Warren…

-_-

I woke up to the skies beginning to burn with dawn's reborn dragon. The last of the moon was setting and I sat up, accidentally waking up Warren. His eyes alleviated open, looking at me and then at the morning sky. I felt good as I got my clothes together and I think that he did too. No…good isn't the right word for it… I felt at peace, happy, and joyful and at had happened, what is going to happen, and what I can only pray about what the outcome is going to be. 

We went back to our room and got Warren's bag of things. He poured what was in it onto a coffee table that was in the room. Four pistols and three machine guns and one assault rifle with stuff I've never seen added to it…and a hell of a lot of ammo. "Alright," he said, "have you had training the M-16 special-aggression rifle?" I thought hard and replied, "I have with the regular kind of M-16 but what's this 'special-aggression' part?" He picked the gun up and showed me. "There's a grenade launcher right here; you fire by hitting the button on the back of hit and you reload my sticking a grenade into the vat—it'll take it in itself. Now this thing—," he gestured to a strange-looking object on the side of the rifle, "—that's an automatic-reloader for the rifle. Marines' standard issue equipment right there. You stick four extra clips into it and when you run out, it'll take a second but it'll reload and they'll never hear you taking the clip out—it'll just recycle it back into the e.c.—extra clip—holder." The 'e.c.' wasn't very large, just about three inches wide and five inches long; very simple design and looked like it was regularly part of the rifle. 

"Alright, if I recall what some of my old buddies were saying, you were better with pistols short-range than you were with rifle's," said Warren. I nodded and he continued, "Then you will take three of those pistols, one of those machine guns, plus your own Glock—which is still in the car. I'll take the rest but…if…if I get taken down, you **will** take the assault rifle…okay?" I nodded, trying not to show any emotion. It was indeed an extremely hazardous topic…we had just fallen in love and now we had to do what we both knew we had to do…which meant fighting a carnal, brutal fight that might end up killing either of us, if not both. We were scared but we weren't going to lose…we didn't come here for nothing…we had to endure the pain, if not for the sake of defeating the gangs but for **each other**…nothing was more important than that…

We left the room, walking down the hallway as if we were honeymooners; hands around each other's waist, Warren whispering into my ear and me giggling at the little nothings he whispered. We were rioters, rebels, insurrectionists…we were timed, nuclear weapons about to go off on some of the diableries that we were meant to kill…

I knew that it was going to hurt. I knew that I was going to take at least a hit or two today, if we found who we were looking for. But I was willing, because I now know—for a **fact**—that I'll be saved by Warren…Torin isn't Warren and he never could've been because he never would understand the agony…but Warren can, has, and will do whatever it takes to get us both out of the shit we were in. Today isn't about surviving; it's about reaping all hell-fire into the pits of Miami, the pits of purgatory and torture…we're gonna save some six year old girl from being raped someday by killing one of these criminals; we're gonna save a store from being robbed…

We're gonna be evil heroes…sinning to stop the sinners…

Quite a concept, isn't it? That I was going to turn into someone fighting for good, while doing bad doing it? It's kind of abashing but it's the truth; I never would've thought it…and yet…oh what the hell. We stepped out into the lobby and I winked at the clerk who was going off-shift; she almost jumped when she saw me, and cried out when I winked. We stepped outside and I looked around; no one was abroad, the parking lot nearly empty.

"Let's go kick some ass," I shouted.

-_-

We got out of the car for lunch at the Burger King parking lot. "I would take you to the Olive Garden but the hotel kinda' wasted my food allocations," Warren said. I laughed and shook my head, replying, "Whatever Warren; I don't care where you take me, as long as you love me." He looked at me, a content smile on his face. 

I was glad he was smiling again. We had gone around town and found out some interesting news from all sorts of people in the criminal syndicate. Most of it had unmistakably bothered Warren and when I would ask him what it was, he would say 'wait a awhile…I've got to try and piece things together'. 

And I didn't bother him about it because I knew, I could tell that he was working things out in his head. He was close to solving a mystery that no one in Miami seemed to know; you see, there had been a immeasurable fight while Warren had been gone on his assignment on me, and no one seemed to know who it was that started it. Most of them just know that there had been a huge brawl and that the gang that got whooped up on was the Bloods. They were a new gang, most of them from California. A lot of people said they were vicious, and if you saw one heading your way, you better get your ass outta there. I had a feeling that Warren already had an idea about who it was, he was just trying to peace together **why** the new gang had done what they had done. Warren had one source, the last one they talked to, say that everyone was on the lookout for a new girl in town, one that looks exactly like the one that was standing next to Warren. That shook both of us up, especially because the guy started freaking out once he realized that Asazi and the 'new girl' were the same person. Warren took the guy into an alley and put a pistol to the guy's head, saying, "You tell anyone, you're dead; not by **my** hands, but by the ones of the people who've told you."

We walked into Burger King and Warren's head casually glanced around the room—, "DUCK," he yelled, diving at me. He plummeted into me and we landed behind a trashcan counter. "We gotta get outta here," he said, just as bullets started ripping up the floor close to us, that visible to whoever was firing. People were screaming and panicking; the place was absolute pandemonium and I knew we could easily make an escape, thanks to those around us. It wasn't nice but neither were those shooting at us—neither were we but, hey, that's another matter. 

I whipped out a pistol, pulled the hammer back and said, "They won't expect me to come up; it's obviously my they want because those bullets tore up the floor where **you** were standing, not where I was. They don't want to hit me." More gunfire and I knew that this was our way out; we couldn't run outside because the car was parked in front of the windows. 

Two more gunshots and I screamed, "OKAY OKAY OKAY! I'M COMING OUT! STOP FIRING!" The gunfire stopped after a few more shots; obviously not every gangsta' heard me shout my fake forfeit. "I'm coming up," I yelled. "I have a gun in my hand but it's disarmed—you can have it when you take me." I slowly stood up, the gun hanging loose in my fingers. The shooters were two black guys and a Mexican, their guns aiming right at me. 

"Yo', is dat da' gurl," whispered the Mexican to one of the black guys. "Yeah, that's the little shit that everyone's looking for. C'mere baby, we've got some business to do with you and we need it done fast and without any problems, ya' here?" I nodded, trying to act scared as I stepped out from behind the counter. Then, as fast as I could, I pulled the gun down and fired three shots…all of the to the head. One of them fired but the bullet went into the ceiling; a nerve twitching in the finger after death, probably. The wall was smeared with the blood of the three would-be killers…the fight definitely would've escalated to something more and innocent people would've been hurt if I would've stepped out like I did. But it was over now, and the people in the restaurant were starting to look up from behind the counters and benches. I heard a little girl's soft whimpering and it almost brought me to tears…but I bit them back, trying to not how sympathy because…to be honest…I don't even know why…

"It's over people," I said and lowered the gun to my side. "It's over…someone call the police but promise me one thing: you'll say **nothing** about me, okay?" They could ruin everything because if police get on the lookout for me, then I won't be safe wherever I go…and that would not be good. I need to have some flexibility around this fucking town…

Warren and I got outta there fast, getting out of the restaurant and ditching the vicinity. We were gone…but the word wasn't. The word about the Burger King was probably spreading across the city like wildfire; news about my first actual appearance and it **proves** that I'm still alive…figures that all this shit would happen on the first day back…

-_-

"Now listen G," said the squeaky-voiced man that was on Pearl Drive, "I don't know what be goin' on but it's some serious shit. Eve'body be runnin' and askin' me questions about this an' that and I startin' to get a little scared here. I mean, seriouswy, you guys gotta get yo' asses outta this town." The guy was an old-school pipsqueak but he was a good information source. He heard all the rumors and spread all the rumors, getting paid to do a delivery here and there…he was basically a guy that wanted the job if it didn't involve him getting shot or gunfire anywhere around him. He was old school, but he did the job right. 

"All dem G's from the southside o' town hit dere jeeps and are lookin' for you two right **now**. I think you two need to get gone, and get gone fast. Or you're gonna get burned. Ain't no playin' on this case; you're girl has got some serious money are her head. Last I heard somebody was offering a hundred thous'd for her. Now that's a lot o' bills if you ask me."

Warren looked at me and mouthed 'a hundred-thousand?' I just shrugged; I didn't know I was worth five or six dollars. "Now listen," said the guy, "I know you two ain't leavin' any time soon, so I t'ink you're best bet is to hit up the southside gang before they find you; d'ey won't be expe'tin' dat. Then, you get your butts back to wherever you are hiding out and stay there for at least a couple o' days."

"What's the name of the southside gang," I asked and both of them looked at me, the informative with a 'where have you been girl' kind of look. "The Crypts…they started in California a year or two ago but they have a gang over here, waging some serious war against everybody else." Warren's answer sounded like he feared the Crypts. "They're not to be played with; they mean business, what they want they'll get whatever it takes…they don't goof off like a lot of people do."

Warren paid the guy a bit more cash and we left, heading for the southside of Miami…, "This is it Asazi…these aren't the people with the price on your head but they're definitely going to get the price on your head if we don't hit them first." I checked my guns and his and when we were completely ready, I asked Warren, "Alright, since it'll be at least a few minutes before we get there, what's their hideout look like and how are we going in; you know, stuff like that." 

Warren replied while scrupulously drove, "We're going into an abandoned building that is four stories and very large; it used to a factory until the factory went out of business and the owner turned it over to his son, who was already in the gangs. The building became their hideout until the Crypts came and beat the snot out of everybody that used to be there; completely eliminated the gang that was first there. Now, I've gone after this place with my old 'friends' and I barely escaped with my life but I'll tell you how I did, which'll also be how we get in. There's a huge sewer network below the abandoned edifice—the company had been a water works company—and when we went after the place, three of us got inside. I was almost nailed by a sharpshooter and the two guys with me took fatal hits. I had no choice but to run so I took off, not being able to remember which out was…I stumbled into a huge room with a network of passages and pipes and all over the room were manholes and ways to get into the ground. So I bailed into a sewer and was gone before they had any idea where I went. I came out half a mile for the building and I took off; that happened about four years ago…and that's how we're going in. Where I came out, we'll go in and from there we'll start thrashing them."

I nodded…it made sense; four years ago and they might've forgotten all about it…hopefully that would be the case. I checked my guns again as Warren pulled into a parking lot, guiding the car through the lot and into a nearby alleyway. There was a manhole a few feet from the car and I knew that he had provided us with an easy exit. He checked his guns; just to be sure I didn't miss anything, and walked out of the alley. I followed and we came to an intersection. He pointed to a building in the distance and said, "That's where we're heading; hopefully not to our fate but hey, you never know." He smiled but I knew that was trying to hid the fact that he was scared to die; he didn't know if there was anything after this little, short life that we're given but I didn't either…but I didn't care all that much…and at least I don't think I do.

We walked back to the back street and climbed into the manhole…the cesspool was pretty much was I thought it would like…a long hallway in the form of cylinder with a little river of piss and shit going down the middle. And the **smell** was—I was unable to control my face as I took my first breath down here. "Uh, **sick**," came Warren's voice. "Man, things change after awhile; last time I was down here it didn't smell this bad at **all**." We started our way down the sewer, trying not to let the smell alter our sense or objectives…but it was overwhelmingly nauseating and revolting. I squeezed the butt of the gun every time I took a breath.

A few minutes later, we came to an intersection of five different tunnels and Warren carefully examined each one, then gestured at the one left of the middle conduit and said quietly, "This one." It was smaller but we could still stand up straight…after what seemed like an hour later—but was probably fifteen to thirty minutes—we reached a distinct manhole and Warren pointed up. We couldn't talk because we didn't want to take **any** chances of being heard or seen…we wanted every possible leverage to be taken. Warren gently moved the manhole over and I felt it begin; the adrenaline started to flow, just a little, but it showed that I was awake and alert and ready to go. 

Warren slid up into the room and I followed as quietly as I could. It was a very large chamber, a huge network and maze of pipes going in every direction and leaving in numerous kinds of exits. Warren started toward metal stairs in a corner of the room and we went up them as silently as we could but they clanged just a little no matter how careful we were. 

We reached the second story and Warren pulled the M-16 against his shoulder and I put away my two pistols and had the automatic firearm in my hands, ready to fire if my finger even twitched. We entered a room we heard resonating voices circulating through the room. I frowned and tried to find out where they were coming from; the room was barren, just a floor, two doors and four walls—an air vent. It was low, against the floor in a corner of the room, and the closer I got to it, the little more audible the voices became. Warren looked at me and I motioned him over to the duct. Should we go, I mouthed to him and he looked at it and nodded… He started crawling into it; it was about a foot-and-a-half tall and three feet wide so we could easily go through it. 

We crawled through it until the voices became so loud that we knew we had to be in the room they were in. There was an opening in the aperture a few more meters down and we both got up to it and looked through it. There were eight people, seven guys and a little girl with her hands tied, a few feet away from the circle of guys. The group was arguing about something and I tried to make out the words…they were looking for me but they couldn't find me and no one had any idea of where I had been sleeping last night…Warren saw the opportunity. 

He took out his machine gun, pushing the M-16 away—it was too big—and he slowly stuck the machine gun through the opening. I did the same with mine and I whispered, "On three," and started raising my fingers, one at a time…

One…two…**three!** The gunfire exploded into the room and the gang members started dropping like flies. One dove to the left, behind a huge pipe, the others were all hit and either dead or dying. It had been clean, efficient, and lethal; it had almost been perfect except for the guy with reflexes. "Stop," the last guy yelled, "or I'll kill the little girl. I know you can see her and I wouldn't take any chances." He then muttered, "Shit," and it echoed throughout the room. I pulled back and Warren stuck his head out the opening and looked below the duct; there was a metal catwalk about fifteen feet down. Warren then grabbed his M-16, handed it to me, mouthed the word 'sniper' and pushed himself out of the ventilation shaft and landed on the catwalk, a loud CLANG echoing through the room. 

I knew what I had to do; he was gonna get the guy to go out from behind the huge pipe and I was to take him out from there. Warren then jumped off the side of the catwalk and landed on the concrete ground, rolling a few times before recovering from the fall. He took cover behind some kind of pool of unclear water.

The little girl was crying and I almost wept for her. Her life was forever screwed because of one of the guys that kidnapped her so he could ransom her for a few extra dollars. Pure **evil** is all that really is…when money rules your heart and mind and body…evil…

Warren suddenly jumped out from behind the pool and, at his angle, started shooting at the guy. The guy fired two shots, then came from his hiding place and started running—BAM! I fired the M-16 and the bullet traveled straight through the guy's rib cage. I fired another and he screamed for a second, then was silent. 

I dropped out of the shaft and joined Warren, who was comforting the little girl. It was over; the Crypts were gone, a lot easier than what Warren had made them seem to be…it was over for the Crypts of Miami…

Warren sat down on pipe and said, "These guys aren't all of them. There are at least ten more and I have no idea where they are or how good they are…I just know that they're—''

"I think I can speak for **all** the Crypts when I say that we **are** good and that we are **right here**." Suddenly, people started stepping out from hiding places all over the room and coming in from other rooms. "Run," yelled Warren and we turned to run when I remembered the little girl. I started to turn around but the first shot was fired—and it went straight through the head of the little girl…

"**NO**," I screamed and pulled out the machine gun and a pistol. I started lighting everybody up with all the hell that I had to break loose. "Fuckers," I screamed and kept firing. I turned my aim to my right and killed a guy that was raising his arm to fire; I pointed my guns up and fatally wounded three men on the trestle. I then aimed down and started killing everyone in sight and that's when **IT** happened. 

The world turned blue and the numbers began to swirl through my head and vision as I started calculating every possible solution to the situation. The numbers twisted around a few guys in a corner of the room with their guns starting to come up at me; they then went after the barrels in one corner of the room that had 'flammable' all over them, and then they went to Warren's M-16; then they went to the maze of pipes and after that to the little girl's corpse and then I knew what I had to do.

I kept firing and ran toward Warren, who was firing at people on the catwalk. As I ran to him, I scooped the little girl's corpse and as soon as I reached Warren, I grabbed the M-16 out of his hands and threw my machine gun at him. I kept running around the room, shooting anyone that got in my and then, as I passed a little control panel, I threw the girl's corpse at the three guy's in the corner who were shooting at me. I then got on one knee—a bullet flew right where my head was—and took six shots and the flammable barrels in the corner of the room. The three guy's the corner of the room that were shooting at me hit the corpse I had thrown at them and blood splattered onto me but I didn't care; those three guy's were about to die. One barrel exploded and I screamed to Warren, "**RUN!**"

He knew what I was doing and we took of for the room that we came in from. As we ran from the room, a bullet grazed my left arm, another piercing the back of my lower leg. I screamed in pain but kept running, knowing that it was either run or die and I didn't want to die yet. There was another explosion, this one bigger and louder and I knew that the barrels were starting to blow up like a fuse. We reached our entrance and dove into it, rolling and popping back onto our feet and running for out lives. "The building's going to collapse," yelled Warren as we ran, "we've got to get as far as we can!" 

I was hurrying as fast as I could but my leg was—, "**AAAA**," I yelled and fell into the sewery liquids. Warren looked back, stopped, came and picked me up. He ran as fast as he could while holding me and all of a sudden there was a **tremendous** explosion and the tunnel collapsed a few yards behind us. The tunnel began to cave in and Warren ran even faster. He reached the intersection and went into the tunnel we came from, sprinting for both of us…

The tunnels collapsed at the intersection of sewers and all was quiet, except for the splashing of Warren's feet in the sewers. Eventually he slowed down and started walking, putting me back on my feet and helping me walk the rest of the way…

It was over…at least, I wished it were…this had only been the beginning. The beginning of my return to Miami. In due time, everyone in Miami would be looking for me and that's when things would get hard…as if they weren't already…

****

Author's Note

Did ya' like it? Let me know what you liked/disliked/loved/hated about this chapter! It took awhile but I enjoyed writing and I hope you enjoyed reading it. See ya' 'round.


	31. The Suitcase

**Author's Note:**  Hey peoples…yes, it's been awhile since I've done anything in the A-Man section and there are a number of good excuses for my temporary vacation but I'm not going to waste time on them so…  A thousand apologies for the unbelievable loss of time and if anyone even still comes to the section, thanks for reading this story.  J Asazi Chapter 31 

It had been four days since Warren and I had done anything worth mentioning.  We'd basically been lying low and avoiding any possibilities of running into anyone that might be connected with Miami's criminal underworld.  

  Things were…quiet.  We just sat around and did nothing; we talked, watched TV (laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the action movies), and…well, that'd be about it.  

  I wasn't happy but I wasn't where I didn't want to be either.  I still had this burning anger deep down inside, this burning that lusted for more of my enemies' blood…but I ignored it.  Focused on Warren and what I needed to be doing; I couldn't just suddenly lose control and go berserk and run off into the streets shooting everyone…(even though, at times, that's what I felt like doing).  

  Yup…four days.  They seemed to last forever but when Warren found it, time quickly made up for its loss.  He was going to go down to the lobby and ask for something and, when he opened the door, there was a silver suitcase on the floor.  Just lying there.  Warren immediately whistled; our warning system.

  In a second we had our guns ready and Warren glanced into the hallway.  "No one," he whispered back at me.  I stepped forward and started walking around the hallways, checking the whole floor while Warren examined the suitcase.  Everything was clear…but I had chills.  And when I had chills, that meant that something was wrong and my instincts were warning me about something.

  I returned to Warren, who had taken the suitcase inside our room; I closed the door behind me and asked, "Think it's a bomb?"  He shook his head no and said, "If it his, it wouldn't go off by remote.  I'd have to open it to set it off; this is a titanium case."

  I sat down next to him on a couch and look at the suitcase, now lying on a coffee table.  Warren looked like he was thinking and I asked, "Think it tracking beacon or something like that?"  

  "No; the gangs in Miami are just brute, not tech-stuff.  They don't go for stuff like that…I have an idea though."  About ten minutes later, the suitcase was lying in closet with a string attached to the switch that opened it; the closet door was closed, the string going under it and to the other end of the suite, where we sat.  If it were a bomb, it'd have to be a big one to get us.

  Warren pulled the string and—nothing happened.  Our eyebrows rose and we started to get up…Warren said; "Now we hope that isn't a remote bomb…" We slowly walked through the suite to the closet and, eventually, opened the closet door, bracing for an explosion…there was none.  

  Instead, there was a hoarse, chilling voice that said, "Ah, they have finally concluded it was safe."

  I looked down at the suitcase to see an antenna sticking up from part of it, a camera looking at me and Warren and a laptop with a person's face looking at us.  "The infamous Warren and Asazi; you two have made quite a stirring since your return to the streets of Miami."

  I frowned…there was something about that voice, it seemed familiar even though I had never seen this man before…and yet, now that I thought about it, he seemed hazily familiar too.  I shook off the feeling and realized how he was talking to us; the antenna was transmitting his image into the laptop and our's, from the camera, to him.  A nice setup for some old, freaky-looking guy.  

  He had gray skin, a rather hideous color; had some kind machine on one of his eyes and he seemed like the kind 

  "Who are you," I asked without hesitation.  For a moment he looked stung but he quickly recovered and said, "Your ally, should you choose to accept.  I am looking for accomplices in my eradication of the pointless crime and violence that the human race endures by other humans.  I want to better humanity by destroying the bad part of it.

  "I assumed that deep down, that's what you, Asazi, have returned to Miami for.  Warren, I also assume, would like to fight by Asazi's side…are you…interested?"

  I looked at Warren as he looked at me.  We both seemed to know what the other was thinking.  He replied, "Hack back into the laptop in an hour; we'll know then."  

  The gray-skinned man made a little bow and the laptop switched off.  _How'd he control that computer, was my first reaction, my second was __back to business.  We put the terminal on the coffee table and then sat on the couch and talked. _

  "What do you think," I asked.  

  Warren shrugged, saying, "If he was good enough to find out where we were then he had to've been good enough to already kill us…I think, note the word 'think', that he's for real.  As to how he got that ugly, I don't know."   

  I laughed and said, "There was something about him, something that I've seen before.  I don't know where but I'm sure it'll come back to me soon."

  "So should we go for it," he asked.

  I thought about it and said, "Yes; if he betrays us then we can just kill him anyway."

  Warren nodded, "Alrighty then."  

  And we waited for the anonymity to return.  

-_-

The screen suddenly flickered and the computer's fan started to whir as I looked up at it.  I glanced at the clock; it had been exactly an hour and the man's face filled the screen.  "Greetings Mr. Warren and Ms. Asazi.  I presume you've reached a conclusion…?"  

  Warren and I had fallen asleep and I awoke him.  "Yeah," he said, as he woke up.  "Uh, first we need to get a few things straight."

  _We do?, I thought.  _

  "And they would be…," the man replied, as if ready for anything Warren could throw at him.  "What's your name," Warren asked.  

  "Ah yes, proper introductions.  Forgive me for being so naïve towards such simple matters.  I am known as Dr. X and, before other inquiries, let me say that we will be on a…need-to-know basis.  We shall never meet in person.  I will be funding and equipping you with anything you so need and/or desire _and paying you for the use of your remarkable abilities."_

  _That kind of says it all I thought, but Warren knew otherwise.  "How are we supposed to work together if we never see each other?"_

  "Through _these," Dr. X said and something jumped from somewhere inside the suitcase.  I lurched off the couch, thinking that it was a weapon but I was obviously wrong.  It was a tiny, purple mechanical bug with green legs.  "Say hello to the first of many of my inventions.  This is a __Trilibug.  We will be working through these most of the time…I believe you'll find them quite…useful."_

  I climbed back onto the sofa.  _Getting jumpy Asazi…I've been cooped up too long.  _

  "So," Warren spoke, "we are basically going to be working for you.  What kind of work, exactly?  Missions or something?"

  "Ah, Mr. Warren, you are precisely right.  I have connections all over Miami and know the hideouts of every gang and target that we'll be…handling.  'Missions' as you so call them wouldn't be a far off statement…"  
  Warren looked at me as if asking, "You cool with all this?"

  I said, "Let's do it." 

  Dr. X looked like he wanted to sing or something.  "That's excellent!  The trilibug here has your first task—," the machine suddenly cast a hologram across the suite, "—which is the reconnaissance of a certain part of Miami.  It's the only one in which my other operatives haven't been able to penetrate but I think that your skills exceed theirs extremely.  The details are with the trilibug; just hit the button on it to show you everything you'll need to know.  Good luck.  Oh, and before I forget, if you ever need to contact me, just turn on the laptop and I should be with you in moments."

  The screen switched off and the trilibug went dormant.  

  Warren looked at me, and then at the clock, then back at me…, "Should we start tonight or wait until tomorrow?"  

  I looked at him and smiled.  "I think that you should give me a little something before anything else."

  He smiled and then kissed me. 

-_-

I woke up at three-thirty in the morning and got ready for the day.  Warren and I had fallen asleep yesterday afternoon in hope of getting started early this morning.  _After a short break, the no-longer-retired Asazi is back, I thought with a smile.  __And now I'm getting paid for what I'm doing.  _

  After a quick shower, I found the trilibug and flipped the switch that 'Dr. X' (what a name…) told us to for the details.  Immediately there was a holographic layout of Miami's ghetto and urban areas.  Dr. X's voice came from the trilibug, obviously preset, "I need you to gather as much information as you can this area—," a box spiraled down onto a certain area of the map, "—but be careful because the people that claim this area aren't the typical gang."  The picture of the map suddenly zoomed up to the ground and, acting like a car, started driving slowly along the streets.  

  As X's voice spoke, I studied the vicinity for hiding places in case of emergencies.  Rather suddenly, the tour of the neighborhood stopped and a picture of a young man appeared.  X was saying, "This is Blake Hahn.  He's twenty-three and amazingly smart but his priorities lie in…problematic areas."  The guy's face was very attractive, with hair parted down the middle and glasses that made him look intelligent.  He had blonde, dyed hair and a tattoo of what looked like a person's face on the left side of his neck.  "He's, like I mentioned earlier, extremely smart; his aptitude lies in strategy and tactics and he's an excellent sharpshooter.  

  "If you see him, you are already being followed and probably about to have a confrontation.  He usually only comes out into the open when he knows he's safe."  

  I studied the face.  It was icy, smart but…underneath the coldness you could see the hurt.  There was pain in his eyes and face.  

  The hologram switched off and X's voice said, "I trust you already have the right paraphernalia for this particular vocation; if not then—," a piece of paper with a key tied to it protruded from the trilibug and fell to the floor, "—use this key for supplies.  Instructions are on the paper.  Please get as many pictures of every angle you can in the vicinity.  Good fortune."

  The trilibug went silent.  

  I woke up Warren and said to him, "We have work to do."


	32. Scouting

Asazi Chapter 32 

The next few days are a blur in my memory; I only dream about them, for I am unable to remember them clearly when I'm awake…  So you are to look at the memories like I do…just think of it as a temporary third-person view…

An hour later Warren and Asazi were out on the streets, driving toward the target area.  The trilibug was sitting on the dash of the car and Warren was driving; she was getting the camera ready for what we were to do.  The skies were still dark and Asazi noticed that the closer they got to the area, the less streetlights there were; there were a bunch of poles but the lights were all out.

  _Clever that they should think to do something so simple; no doubt they know their own territory well enough to chase enemies in the dark.  Very smart…_

  When they reached the district Asazi had started taking pictures while Warren slowly drove around; they got every angle of the first block that was possible and then moved on to the second.  The camera was a special one that Asazi had gotten from the safe house that the two had moved into.  

  That key that had come out of the trilibug with the instructions went to a safe house in the upper area of Miami (the preppy rich folks, in other words).  In the basement of the safe house was an unbelievable arsenal of weapons and technological stuff.  

  Asazi's mind was on streets; she felt a sudden tremor of instincts and searched them for their warning.  She felt like she was being watched so she started glancing up into the buildings for a light on or a figure on the rooftops…there were none that she saw right off but she kept looking, determined to find the reason her alarms were going off.

  "What's wrong," Warren asked, noticing that she had stopped taking pictures.  Her stern reply told him that he'd better be careful; "We're being watched," she said.  Warren told her to keep taking pictures and that he would keep his eyes open.  

  The camera kept whirring every few seconds and in less than ten minutes their mission had been accomplished.  The sun wasn't even starting to come up, the morning skies still dark; "That wasn't too bad; if all the stuff that guy wants us to do are—''

  "RPG!" Asazi screamed and Warren, out of a mix of instinct and reflexes stomped on the gas.  The car's tires screeched and Warren's hands gripped the wheel as it sped off and—SSSKKRRR—BOOM!  

  The missile scraped off part of the car's paint and hit the concrete road, the explosion's force sending the back of the car into the air.  "HOLD ON," Warren yelled but the explosion only lasted a moment and as the car was speeding down the road, the rear of the car crashed back down onto ground and the car jerked to a stop.  Warren's foot hit the pedal and they sped away from the area…

-_-

"Where the hell does a pathetic, teenage-ran Miami gang get a fuckin' bazooka," Warren said, a little on the angry side.  

  "They have mobile artillery you say," said X with surprise; "A thousand apologies; it seems I've strongly underestimated my enemies.  It will not happen again, after all, your lives are important to my cause."  X's face displayed a mix of concern and surprise but Asazi wasn't sure if it was real.  She couldn't tell and that strange sense of familiarity swept across her again; _I know him, somehow but where?  His voice is raspy and yet I know I've heard before, like it used to be something young and…  Asazi tried but just couldn't place it.  She gave up and said, "Okay, let's just forget about the whole thing and you just tell us what's next."_

  X looked at her with admiration and something was obviously on the tip of his tongue but he hesitated, then moved onto business; "The next step for me is to store this data and make strategic implications as to how you are going to destroy this posse of insolent boys."  He looked up, adding, "And the next step for you is find the cell phone that is now lying on the porch swing of your safe house and await my call.  To put it simply, do whatever you like until I call for you; it may be hours or days, I will not know.  Goodbye."

  He switched off before Asazi or Warren could ask questions.  They both sort of looked at each other and back at the screen, as if expecting X to come back.  "So where to," they both asked at the same time, then laughed…

-_-

_Nothing like the sun, Asazi thought as she felt the heat warm her body.  Her eyes closed and a drink at the side of her chair, slowly condensing and awaiting her thirst.  _

  Warren was just gazing at her, his thoughts on how beautiful she was (especially when in the small, two-piece she was in) and how he was falling in love with her.  _Amazing that we would meet like we did, only to like each other in the near future, he thought.  He wished he could spend the rest of his life with her but he knew it'd never work.  She was too tragically caught in the past, whether she knew it or not.  She was too full of hatred and pain for a family; she could raise children but never in the way they would need it.  Warren wondered how things would turn out between them, and then, as if reading her mind she playfully said, "Warren…do you think that we might be able to settle down sometime in the future?  I mean, after we're finished working for X and all."_

  She looked at him and smiled; he replied, "To be honest, I don't know.  I think that depends on whether or not we survive the jobs we do for X."  He was avoiding the subject and he knew it but what else could he say?  Then another thought hit him…_what if I got her pregnant?  **That** would cause a helluva lot of problems.  Warren didn't even want to think about that…  __Shame things won't work out…_

  If only I'd have said no… 

  "Does that mean you don't like me," she asked, this time her voice serious.  

  "Of course not, Asazi."  He got up and sat beside her, barely enough room on the mat for both of them.  "I **do** like you, no matter what you think."  

  They kissed and she asked the one question he hoped she wouldn't…quietly, she whispered, "Do you love me?"  Warren didn't take his eyes from hers because that would give himself away.  Instead, he bent down and kissed her, slowly and passionately.  Her took one of his hands and put it on the string of her swimsuit, inviting him to take it off, then wrapped her arms around his neck.  

  Unsure of what to do, Warren just went along with her and just as he had taken the top off, the cell phone rang.  Warren started to pull away but Asazi shook her head no and kept kissing him, wanting more.  Torn, Warren hesitated, then pulled her arms from his neck and whispered, "Duty calls."  

  Asazi frowned as he turned his back and answered the phone on fifth ring.  "Yeah," he said.  "Was I…disturbing you," came X's slow, curious voice.  Warren almost laughed but answered casually, "No, not at all; just took a second to get to the phone."

  "Ah," X replied.  There was a silence and Warren broke it, saying, "You have our next thing?"

  X was tacit for another moment, then replied, "Yes but it will take extreme caution and close attention to the planning.  Are you ready or should I try again later?"

  "No, uh, we'll hook up on the link at the safe house."

  "Excellent."  Click; X hung up.

  Warren ended the call and looked back at Asazi.  He wanted her so much but he knew, knew that the future would tear them apart, that they could never live together in peace.  _And to think that I had to fall for someone I knew that things wouldn't work out with…figures…_

  "Back to the safe house," he said and went inside the hut they had been renting.  They were on a private beach west of Miami and it would take them a good half-hour at the least to get back to the safe house.  Asazi pouted and Warren tried to resist taking here then by saying, "Looks like things are going to get rough."  That took Asazi's look away and she immediately got up, thinking, _another step closer to freeing Miami of its curse and fulfilling my revenge…another step…_

-_-

"Okay, you hinted that things were going to get tough so explain to us what we're to do."

  X, looking at then on the screen of a computer monitor, nodded his head and the basement of the safe house was suddenly a three-dimensional map of the gang's turf.  "With the information you passed onto me, I was able to wire up these two office buildings.  Your objective is to use the sniper rifles supplied for you in the room you're in now and snipe out the gang.  I have received information from several sources that there's to be a 'brawl'," X said brawl with a mocking tone, "tonight on the corner of Palmed Sands and 28th street.  I looked into the police patrols and there shouldn't be any police in the area for at least ten minutes after the 'brawl'."

  X paused, as if waiting for something, then continued, "These two buildings are the ones that have bombs in them," two buildings on the three-dimensional map flashed; one was eleven stories high and the other four.  "You will approach the area from the softball field that Palmed Sands Street dead ends into.  One of you, preferably Asazi, will be stationed in this field; if you wear camouflage you shouldn't be visible and the moon will be faint.  The other, preferably Warren, will be stationed in this building," the shorter one of the flashing two suddenly had a red dot in it.  

  "Whoa now, why one of the wired ones," Warren asked, suspiciously.  

  "So that if anyone realizes that both groups have been set up and tries to sneak in after you, all I have to do is destroy the building."  Warren thought for a second, and then said, "I'll still be in it."  X patiently replied, "On the contrary, Mr. Warren, you will be here on the second floor—," the red dot shone at a window of the building right above the intersection where the fight was to be, "—armed with the best sniper rifle in the world.  You'll have ten shots before you reload and if the both of you work together, neither of you should have to reload unless we get more than expected."

  They were quiet for a moment and Asazi said, "How many do you expect to be there?"  
  "Roughly fifteen; the both of you will have handless communication if you deem it necessary."  Warren suddenly realized something and spoke it, "So you're going to blow me up if someone runs into the building after me."  

  Acting as if there wasn't a flaw at all, X said, "There is a palm tree right next to your window; you just have to step out of the window and into the tree, then slide down it and run to meet Asazi.  Asazi, I expect you will cover the building as well?"

  She nodded but her eyes were searching for something, a flaw.  Should couldn't find one but…she felt there was something wrong.  A flaw in the plan.  One that might change the whole thing and—was it a setup?  No, because she would be too far away to even be seen—

  Warren spoke, interrupting her thoughts, "Will I be able see Asazi from the window?"  

  "Of course, eye contact is a must, no matter the distance," X replied, his voice suddenly satisfied with something.  Asazi felt something in her blood telling her that there was a glitch in something, maybe not even the plan but…she couldn't see it.  She was frowning visible and Warren asked, "You alright?"  

  She looked up and said, "Oh, yeah…just making sure everything was good.  Umm…where will the car be?"  A blue dot appeared two blocks from the softball field, parked in a parking lot well out of the target area.  "What time is the fight supposed to start," Asazi asked.  "You will need to be in your positions well before the gangs get there," X was saying, "but at the same time the local law enforcement overwhelm the area in the time frame you need to be there…  My sources tell me that everyone is supposed to be there at midnight and the last police patrol **officially** leaves the area at 11:50, not to return to the area until 12:17.  You will need to be in your positions by 10:15, despite heavy police duty."

  Asazi scowled and said, "Why do we need to be there so early before the fight?"  

  "Ah, I am disappointed in you Asazi.  This gang knows their territory extremely well and, chances are, they will be populating the area around 10:30 to make sure the other hoodlums don't try anything tricky.  


	33. Haywire

Asazi Chapter 33 This day is still a blur like a movie… 

The car had been parked and X was definitely right; the police force flooded the area before midnight.  It was hard to sneak around with the car but once they had parked it, the new moon didn't provide any light for them to be seen by and the mission started going smoother.  

  It was 10:45 when Asazi saw movement.  Before then, they had successfully done everything right, including being in their spots when they were supposed to.  Warren hadn't opened a window but he had given Asazi an indication as to where he was.  Her hand brought the little microphone to her mouth, which was attached to a small communications-headset in her ear, "Warren, I think I saw someone approaching the office building beside yours and closer to me."

  "Gotcha," came his reply and she saw through her night-vision scope that he had opened his window, along with several others on the same floor.  Asazi then moved the sniper rifle toward the movement, using the scope to find what she saw.  She switched the scope's vision to infrared and a figure of bright red suddenly appeared.  "I have confirmation," she quietly said into the headset.  

  The figure looked her way but she knew she wasn't visible; she was in a tree behind the softball lozenge, next to a small set of bleachers to bestow shade for those watching any games that might've been held.  She could barely see herself, let alone her equipment.  The rifle couldn't be seen either, she was sure of that too.  The character started moving again, constantly looking over his shoulder.  

  "It appears to a young male," started to report, "and he's obviously up to something he shouldn't be; let's hope a cop car comes and sees what he's up to."  But one didn't come down that street in particular and the boy eventually found what he was looking for because he stopped moving and…  "He's looking up into the sky," Asazi said with surprise.  _What does the sky have anything to do with whatever he's up to?_  Then the figure bent down and from the angle Asazi was at, she could see the butt of a handgun sticking out of the boy's waist.  "Okay, Warren, he's armed and he's…uh…" The figure was crawling on the ground, moving away from her.

  "Talk to me Asazi," came Warren's voice.  

  She switched to night vision and then saw what he was up to, and said, "He's going into the drain, the sewer system."  _Why is he doing that?  _Asazi tried to put the pieces together and, slowly, it hit her.  "Warren, are there any drains at the intersection?"

  In a moment, Warren replied, "Yeah, at the corner of each sidewalk."  

  "Oh man," Asazi said.  "We're not going to be able to eradicate them all from these angles…but what if…" She tried to think about how they could solve this.  "Hey," Warren's voice said inter her ear, "I switched to infrared and there's the guy at the drain and he's just looking out…okay, he gave a thumbs-up signal?!"  Warren sounded confused.  

  "Look at the other drains in the intersection," Asazi said.

  A few seconds later, Warren said, "That's really clever.  They have people in each corner of the intersection, underground and invisible to the naked eye.  If you said one of them was armed, chances are that they all are."

  Asazi shook her head.  This wasn't going right.  They couldn't kill the whole gang without assaulting them on foot and making themselves vulnerable.  "Warren, does it look like they have any kind of communication with each other?"  

  "Not if they were giving the others a thumbs-up sign.  The guy I'm looking at now is sitting back in the gutter on a chair and listening to headphones, and constantly glancing at his watch.  His leg is bouncing up and down; he's jumpy as hell."

  "Headphones?"

  "Yeah, he's got a CD player.  Nice one too."  Asazi rolled her eyes and smiled but that mood was quickly changed when she got back to the mission…  _We've got to take them out.  The plan was to let the gangs kill each other off and then we nail the leftovers but now there'll be nearly a whole gang of leftovers.  _Asazi fought to find a way other than the one conclusion she'd already reached but couldn't see any other way.  _Damn!_  "Warren, do you think they could get to each other?"  

  "If they did, they wouldn't have given each other signals.  The ones I can see are just sitting around and doing nothing."

  Asazi sighed and pulled out her backup weapon, a silenced PP7.  She loaded it and said to herself, "He'll drop like a fly."  

  Warren must've heard the gun because he immediately reacted by saying, "No, do NOT go down there Asazi.  Don't do it, you'll give us away."  She rolled her eyes and looked around for any squad cars.  There was one, approaching the intersection at that moment.  It turned right and went out of her sight.  

  "Okay, Warren, when I tell you, you take out the three you can see.  I'm going under the building your in so you have to take the one that I saw go in and the other two, okay?"  She wasn't sure if his voice was panicky or just against what she was going to do.  There was always a difference.  Perhaps it wasn't either of them, and it was counterfeit; it had a tint of…_no, of course not.  It's Warren we're talking about here._

  Asazi fell from tree and, still in the pitch-black darkness, looked around to be sure she wouldn't be seen.  There were two cop cars on the opposite side of the area she was approaching but she doubted they could see her.  She progressed with her steps, silent and swift.  She stayed in all the shadows, rarely in the light to prevent being seen from a distance.  Warren's exasperated sigh came through the headset; he must've seen her.  "This is stupid," his voice said.

  "Too late now," she replied, and then she reached the gutter that along his building.  The guy she'd seen had went under the building to the left of Warren.  Quite easily, with her extremely skinny body, Asazi slipped into the sewer system and could immediately see where the boy before her had stepped.  She inaudibly took the same steps, hoping that no one would be able to tell a second individual had entered the gutter.  Rather suddenly, she heard the faint echo of muffled music through the tunnel and she knew she was close.  _A fool, to turn them up so loud that you can't hear your surroundings; he wouldn't make it much longer if I hadn't decided to kill him here._  Asazi reached a corner, which, according to her sense of direction, turned to face the intersection.  The music wasn't an echo and she could tell it was right there.  

  She took a quick glance around the corner and saw a Mexican teenager, his back at facing her at a 45-degree angle.  She pulled the gun from her back and started to take aim when the Mexican suddenly shot up and ran over to the opening in the system, the drain.  She realized that he could see all the other corners of the gutter and thought, _Damn Warren if he fired before I told him to._  Asazi stepped around the corner; gun aimed straight at the hoodlum and fired three quiet shots.  Two pounded his chest and the other went in and through his neck.  

  "Kill the rest of them Warren, now and fast," she spoke softly into the headset.  

  Almost immediately she heard two little _pufts _through the headset but there wasn't a third and she paused.  "Warren, what's happening?"  His voice came back, a mix of shock and vexation, "The one that you saw go in took off before I could take the shot.  You have to get him fast, or the whole thing's gonna be called off.  

  "**_Shit_**," Asazi muttered and started running back.  She took the same steps but was a lot clumsier than when she had gone the opposite direction.   But that didn't matter because things were going to get real nasty if she could take this guy out.  

  She reached the drain when she heard Warren say, "Dammit Asazi, he's already out and running, you have to get him **now**."  Asazi jumped through the drainer, scraping her feet on the concrete when she pulled them through.  Then she looked up and saw the boy sprinting away from her, extremely fast.  She muttered a few curses and set off after him, not realizing that she was glowing in headlights.  _SHIT_, _a cop car_, she knew without looking; it was her typical luck.  

  The sirens came on and tires shrieked as the rubber burned.  Asazi passed the street and was on the sidewalk, the pistol down her pants so the cops wouldn't see it when they tore after her.  "Asazi, what the hell are you gonna do," Warren yelled.  

  "What I always—do," she replied, out of breath, "—adlib."  It was no doubt that the cops had already called for backup and she was tempted to shoot them out of pure anger but that would be against her cause; it'd be like betraying her own self.  So she flew down the sidewalk with an unpredicted velocity; she was gaining on the boy.  

  The cop car swerved onto the road she was on and she glanced back to see it regaining its composure and chasing after her.  Her target turned at the next street and she followed only to—_where the hell did he go?_  The sirens told her she better hide so she thought fast and climbed one of the somewhat-large mimosa trees that were throughout the sidewalk along the street.  Just as she reached a safe spot in the tree the police vehicle curved onto the road.  It kept going at the same speed, tearing down the road and then turning somewhere else; obviously she had lost it.

  "Bitch," said a young voice and she heard the sound of a gun being loaded.  She twisted her head to look around her, seeing a young boy on a branch below and behind her, starting to pull a gun up to her.  She wrapped her legs around a large branch of the tree and let her body fall back; she used her arms to grab the gun, throw it away and she then swiftly broke his wrist and a finger.  He cried out and fell out of the mimosa tree; his body had spasmed when the pain she had caused rippled through it.  

  His landed flat on his back, lying on the pavement in pain.  Asazi quickly climbed down the tree and spat on him.  He winced and said, "Who the hell are you?"

  She bent down close to him and said, "It was clever of you all the fill the sewers; very strategic."  She was tempted to kill him then and there but the body on the streets would've been a sign that something had happened and police would swarm the area for the rest of the night and everything would be cancelled; she couldn't afford that.  

  Asazi pulled him to her feet and said, "Walk with me, you little shit."  He back-fisted her across the face with his good hand and took off in a run.  She had been caught off-guard and was surprised by the little shit's sudden retaliation; she wouldn't let that happen again.  As her nose bled, she swiftly pulled out the PP7 and shot the bastard in the leg, behind the left knee.  

  He screamed as he fell on the pavement, smacking his head hard the concrete.  She walked over to his body, only to discover he had busted his head open on the sidewalk, getting blood all over the place.  "Ugh," she uttered, then pull the body up and—KSH, KSH, KSH, KSH, KSH, KSH, KSH, KSH…

  Asazi grimaced as water sprinklers turned on, soaking her and the mimosa trees that were along the side of the building and sidewalk.  Then she smiled and dragged the body toward the closest drain; once there, she shoved the body into it.  She looked up to find the blood already washed away by the water sprinklers.

  The sound of sirens echoing through the streets told her that the cop car was returned.  She scrambled back up a tree and waited silently for it to come and pass.  "Asazi, what happened," Warren's voice came to her with surprise.  He had been quiet for at least a minute; _probably just trying not to distract me…_

  "I got him," she said, and then added as she watched the cop car turn onto 28th Street, "You've got incoming bogies…"

**Author's Note**

Hey everyone that's still reading the A-Man section!  Lol.  Hope you enjoyed this chappy and I promise the next one will have even **more** action and even more _suspense_, not to mention even more twists and turns.  Hope you enjoyed.    ;)    


	34. Greed

Asazi Chapter 34 Like I've said, this day is still a blur and the reason being will be revealed soon…  I only remember things in bits and pieces but since I'm not sure I just wrote it as a third-person point of view…I thought it was artistic for my diary too… 

Asazi hit the button and the little watched glowed green for a few seconds, illuminating it's display that read 11:56.  The motor of the last squad car that was to be in the area faded away as it left the vicinity, causing Asazi's heart to quicken a bit; _the time is near_, she thought excitedly.  

  "We're, according to schedule, clear of the police," she said softly.  _They were supposed to be gone ten minutes ago, _she thought.  

  "Sounds good," came Warren's rejoinder.  She heard him sigh and knew that his blood was probably beginning to pump.  Asazi, back in the tree in which she had started in, glanced around the area with her scope, looking for any signs of the gangs that were to fight.  There were none and she sighed, leaning back on the tree.  

  Fatigue crossed her mind but she fought it off, blinking her eyes in attempt to chase away the lethargy.  Things were quiet and that's typically how she liked them but right now, she was ready for the operation to start so it would end sooner.  _Patience Asazi_, she told herself; _can't fight if you don't have a clear mind and are fluttering with emotions._  

  She frowned and opened her eyes, immediately seeing movement along the building that was to the left of Warren's structure.  She was about to tell Warren when his voice came onto her headset, saying, "I've a lot of people showing up on the opposite end of Palmed Sands.  They're moving along the sides of the buildings in the shadows; I can only see them with my scope."

  "I've got multiple targets too," Asazi replied sternly.  "Looks like things are about to get bloody."  She started to go back over the plan with Warren, "Remember, do **nothing** to give yourself away; again, we wait until they've killed each other off, then we take the scraps that are left.  Got it?"

  "Yeah; these guys are pulling out knives and shit; guns and everything."

  Asazi zoomed in with her scope and saw that the targets that were visible to her were arming themselves too; only they weren't just arming themselves…they were pulling out an armory of weaponry.  _Holy shit_…_that's a lot o' stuff…_  Asazi readied her silences PP7, slipping it into her back; then she grabbed four extra sniper rifle clips and started, slowly, climbing down the tree.  In a few seconds all she had left was a little five-foot drop to the ground.  Holding the rifle in one hand and the spare clips, she fell from the tree and immediately got on her stomach, hoping she hadn't been seen.  

  The tree provided good darkness and there were no streetlamps nearby, so she had good cover.  She readied the rifle and brought the scope to her eye, switching it to infrared; she wanted to know how many people were on this side of Palmed Sands Street.  What her scope revealed nearly shocked her; "Shit, Warren, these guys are up to something."

  "Yeah, so are these ones; didn't X say something about the fight being a no-firearm fight?"  Asazi thought for a moment replied, "Yes I think so; problem is, the guy down here are arming themselves with assault rifles and machetes.  And one of them has the bazooka that fired at us the other night."

  "Oh," came his voice, then, "…uh…that sucks because…" He sounded like he was thinking out loud so Asazi didn't say anything, just let him think; it must've just hit him cause he suddenly said, "The people on your side are going to send a few people forward along the building I'm in!"

  Asazi tried to think what that meant but…, "Umm, so?"

  "So that the people that they leave behind can back them up; I can't see down there without the scope so there's no way that gang #2 wouldn't be able to see that their enemies have heavy-duty backup.  Uh oh, hold on a sec."  While she waited, Asazi realized he was right, especially after six guys that had machetes and knives sprinted to the other side of the street, hiding behind Warren's building.  _What kind of gang are we dealing with_, Asazi questioned but she quickly forgot about it when Warren spoke again.

  "Asazi, there's a sniper in the building kitty-corner to me.  I can't tell whose side he's on but I'm guessing he's for gang #2."  

  Asazi frowned, and then said, "How high is he?"  Warren sighed a reply, "About eight stories; he's way too far up there for me to risk sniping him; I'd have one shot and after that everyone would know where I was."

  Asazi's frown thickened with intensity and she said, when she thought a solution, "Isn't that why X rigged the building to blow?  Give yourself away and I'll tell you when—," she stopped when she realized the flaw that she'd sense earlier.  _How is X supposed to know when to blow the building?_  Then another question hit her; _why is the other building wired to blow up?_  There.  She had found the flaw(s) in the plan.  Something wasn't right; either X was up to something or things were going haywire, greatly against the plan.  "We have to act Warren, we **have** to do something."

  There was no answer, no sound from him.  _Damn!_  She used to scope to count how many people were in gang #1.  Six heading to the intersection and eleven hiding behind the building; her rifle had ten bullets…  Slowly a plan formed into motion; _I take out the eleven waiting to back the others up and then I'll go for the sniper while Warren waits until there is nobody else left except for those that survived…_  It could get even worse but it was their best option.  

  "Warren, I'm taking out the eleven people back here and you just wait in the dark, okay?"  Asazi waited but there was no answer; she couldn't even hear his rhythmic breathing…_Oh God, don't let him die_, she thought, surprising herself…  _Am I in love with him_, she asked herself, and then thought, _no; it's just that without him I'm alone in Miami and I need a partner to back me up…so…I'm lonely…_  

  With a renewed determination not to let Warren die, Asazi rolled to her left and got to her feet in the shadows.  Using the scope for a second to see where they were, she ran to her right about thirty yards, getting ever so close to a road; if a car came, she'd be seen but that didn't matter.  She hit the dirt and brought the rifle up to a firing position; with her scope, she saw that only one person was looking her direction; she couldn't tell if it was because he saw her or if he was just glancing around…  The figure tried to get another's attention and the two of them looked her way; _their mistake_, she thought as she squeezed the trigger once, then moved ever so slightly, to aim at the other.  The two were down in less than a second of excellent accuracy.

  She heard somebody yell and through the scope the nine that were left had hit the ground and were looking around for sniper positions.  She pulled the trigger again, then again, and again…  In another ten seconds, there were two of them left and they were just barely in sight.  Asazi fired the last bullet in her clip and one of the two left stopped moving.  

  She ejected the clip and installed a new one and as she looked back towards the target, she saw, through the scope, that the last guy had the RPG and was aiming **right at her.**  _SHIT_, Asazi thought as she scrambled to her feet; the bazooka fired and she was running and…

  The explosion catapulted her away, the metal of the sniper rifle singing her hands and she dropped it.  Asazi hit the ground hard and headfirst, the wind knocked out of her and the rifle way back where she had been.  She blacked for a few seconds and when she came to, she knew she had a concussion…as she slowly got to her feet she heard the POOFT of another missile firing her way; no doubt she was visible thanks to the explosion of the last rocket.  She started running, slipping the PP7 into her front to protect her from losing it.   

  BOOM!  Her feet were lifted from the ground as she flew and suddenly she felt weightless.  She frowned and, when she landed, she landed on her feet and rolled, then popped right back up.  Asazi started walking her toward her target, then stopped and realized what she could do.  Smiling coldly, she pulled the PP7 out and aimed at the area that she thought the bazooka was firing from.  There was a suddenly flash of light and her gun aimed at it in the split second it was there and fired.  Asazi heard somebody cry out in pain as she dodged the explosive projectile.  It had worked…in a sense.  She slipped the PP7 down the back of her pants, so it was invisible to anyone she came in contact with.  

  In the light of one of the few streetlights left, she could see the intersection.  The six people from the gang she had just sniped were now looking both ways, thinking that they were surrounded.  In a sense they were but not like they thought it.  

  Asazi walked back to her sniper rifle and picked it up.  Part of her headset had been melted and it wasn't working so she took it off and threw it away.  She simply walked back to her tree, using the shadows like a path and then took aim at the building that had the sniper in it.  _Around ten stories_, she thought as she started hunting for the enemy.  She found him in less than a few seconds and started to take aim; he was firing down but not at the gangs…at Warren!  A spark erupted from something behind the sniper and some glass next to him broke.  Warren was still alive!  He was shooting back!  

  Asazi pulled the trigger twice, the first time sending a bullet into and through the sharpshooter's chest, the second severing his head from the rest of the body.  The corpse fell through the open window down the ten stories and hit the pavement with a splat; Asazi brought the rifle down to the two gangs that were fighting.  There were three guys left, two of them circling their opponent; Asazi shook her head and fired three quick shots, ending all their wretched lives.   

  It was then, after it was over, that she heard the sirens.  They weren't close but they couldn't have been more than four blocks away.  Asazi cursed and started running towards the building that Warren was in, thinking, _Have to get him out before the cops get here._  Just as she reached the window he had crawled in, a door opened and he stumbled out, his rifle in his hands and his right side covered in blood from the ribs down.  

  He looked at her and she started to rush to him, to help him but he raised the rifle at her; she stopped immediately.  "Drop it," he said, gesturing to her shooter.  She gently tossed it aside, too in shock to know what was going on.  "Warren, what—''

  "Shut the fuck up," he snapped, then wincing as his side shot up in pain.  Still, he kept a clear head and said, "You know, I really didn't want things to go like that…but do you know the price that's on your head?  **Five million** dollars, Asazi…that's a hell of a lot of money for one kill.  I thought I loved you but when I agreed to take you out, I realized things wouldn't have worked out anyway.  You have issues, bitch, and just because you're a good fucker in bed don't mean I can live with those issues.  **Hell** no."  

  Asazi's eyes had a salty shield as she looked at with tear-blurred vision.  "But—but I was happy with you, I thought you were too and—''

  "Oh, I was, until I was called about the bounty on your head.  Five mother fu—,'' he stopped when she started sprinting away.  He cursed and tried to move the rifle to aim at her but the hit he had taken in his chest.  He yelled a few curses and tried to chase after her but he fell on the ground, the gun clattering away.  

  Asazi stopped running and slowly turned around, tears streaking down her soft face.  There were too many things going through her mind as she slowly pulled the PP7 from behind her and took aim; Warren looked up at her and started chattering, trying to get out of the hole he had just gotten into but…it was no avail.  

  Asazi pulled the trigger once, then twice, then emptied the clip into Warren's body.  She then tossed the gun away, it landing next to his cadaver and she started walking away, towards the softball field.  Then she started jogging…then started running…too overwhelmed with the pain of betrayal…

  She barely avoided the police as they flooded the area.  The explosions of the RPG had attracted them and Asazi wondered if—there was a huge explosion and Asazi felt it in the car as she drove away from the scene; in the rearview mirror she saw that the two buildings that had been wired were now completely and utterly annihilated…

  Her head ached with pain from crashing on the ground and her eyes couldn't stop shedding their tears… 


	35. Revealed

Asazi Chapter 35 Back to the journal…back to normal…  This is the next-to-last entry I have; after this it will be a few years until the present but I stopped writing because…I didn't want to have to remember any more of the memories of my hellish life.  This entry is the probably longest of them so… 

Because of the concussion I received, I was unable to do anything for several days…  X contacted me when he knew I was better.  We were on the computers; communicating to each other when he told me the reason he had wired the two buildings to blow up.  "It was obvious to me that Mr. Warren was interested in the bounty that had recently been placed on you.  

  "I noticed a change in him at some point, especially after I reviewed his cell phone records; yes I had his mobile phone bugged just in case.  You see, I never trusted him in the first place but I knew I could trust you."  

  "Why didn't you tell me," I asked, my own mind full of suspicion against him.  He laughed his little, ugly laugh and replied; "I knew that I could trust you, which brings me to telling you about the **real** reasons for my contacting and hiring you."  He stopped, waiting for me to say something.  So I didn't say anything and agitated him.  

  "I want us to meet in person because I do not believe you will understand the science of the events that are too take place in the following years.  Of course, without your help, I could not fulfill mankind's destiny." 

  Mankind's destiny, I thought with wonder and he had my curiosity; he must've seen it because he said, "Meet me at the corner of 34th and 17th streets in downtown; I will be in a limo and you are to be waiting on the single black bench.  Precautions, you see."  Then the screen flickered and his face faded from the monitor.  

  Again I thought, what have I gotten myself into?  Mankind's destiny; I hope he's not a someone that needs to be in an asylum or something…  He certainly had that look to him…

-_-

An hour later a limousine pulled up with windows so tinted it was impossible to tell if there was a light on inside the vehicle; I was waiting in downtown where I was to be waiting and the window slowly rolled down.  X was sitting on the opposite side of the bench and he looked at me through the frame of the window and said, "Please join me, Ms. Asazi."  

  I got to my feet and someone whistled as I bent down to get into the limousine.  I was wearing a black, fabric trench coat with tight leather pants and a nice blue shirt; I wanted to whirl and shoot the fool that I had unintentionally gotten attention from but I didn't.  

  I slammed the door and a purplish bug with green legs rolled the window back up; I remembered the little electronics' name after a few seconds of hard thought.  I looked at Dr. X and tried to stop it but I couldn't…I gasped in shock and his face remained blank and then everything else hit me…

  He was legless with nothing to help him walk…and then I remembered everything about Xynan and I cried out in grief…  This was Xynan, the one that had taken me in when I was so young and helpless.  This was Xynan, the one that I thought I had fallen in love with when I was so young…and helpless…

  I tried to speak but couldn't for there was a lump in my throat.  Now I knew why he had seemed so familiar, seemed so peculiar.  Oh God, how could you have let him survive, I silently asked…

  'Dr. X' said, "Judging from your reaction to my appearance, you remember me now."  

  I couldn't lie…but I couldn't speak so I just nodded…I nodded a yes…

  And he sighed in disgust; I wasn't sure what he was revolted by but it was obvious he was aghast.  He said, "Yes, Asazi, it is I, Xynan; but you will speak this to no one for Xynan is dead.  He died over a decade ago and Dr. X is **now**…Xynan was then, **I** am now.  Do you understand?"  I swallowed and nodded.  How could you have let yourself survive, if God didn't have a hand in it?  I would've rather died then lived on without legs…

  "I've been busy with several projects, Asazi.  Since Xynan died, science has become a main part of my life and I have followed it since Xynan died.  You may think that the past caught up with you but, in fact, it never left.  Never.  I knew where you were at nearly all times but I couldn't do anything about your troubles because of my…handicap."  

  He's completely lost it, I realized and then thought, but that means he could bring in good money…  After all I might be able to pull a few stunts on him…  

  "I wish to show you my dreams and why I need you to help me fulfill them.  Are you interested in bettering the humankind?"

  I nodded, playing along, and then I said, "I wish to better them by getting rid of the filth."  

  He smiled and alleged, "That's one way but I have a few better ideas; ones that are probably even more violent but will **completely** better the homo sapiens; we will, without a doubt, trigger mankind's next step in evolution."

  He silenced himself for a few moments and then said, "You probably think me insane but that will change when we arrive to **my** home…  For now, just think, Ms. Asazi.  Think…"

  I replied with silence, turning my head to stare out the window and…think about how small the world was…

-_-

"Neo-Humans," Dr. X said with what could've been a smile as machines attached him to some kind of wheelchair he had made for his body.  "I'm going to mutate us Homo-Sapiens into Neo-Humans, much more powerful and intelligent beyond Einstein.  I have already created one successfully—not counting a certain number that don't even know they have the gift—despite many unsuccessful attempts."

  He somehow moved the wheels without touching them towards a control monitor.  We had been taken to a private airport, then transferred to a helicopter that Xynan…X flew without touching; probably something to do with his 'trilibugs'.  With the helicopter we had flown out into the ocean and to an abandoned oilrig. I didn't ask how it was abandoned for fear of hearing something I didn't want to…

  "My first experiment was done in a day and age that you were familiar with…and people that you were familiar with…" I frowned and then I realized what he meant...the numbers!  The numbers in my head are from **his** experiments…Alex was his experiment, I was his experiment…and I'm one of those few that don't know that they have the gift…but I do know…

  Dr. X continued, "Yes, the small group of four that you were with; I never got see your results your sophomore and junior years due to…disagreements with a certain scientific officer, but I know that at least one of you was successful.  Well, back to the present, the Neo-Human I have is currently unavailable but that will change as experimentation continues…I'm trying to repair my **main** project, the one I've been studying that has captured my heart to complete is much more extravagant."

  "I've developed four different plans to use different methods of mutating homo-sapiens into Neo-Humans.  The first is still the most effective and most widespread; a nuclear bomb armed with certain elements mixed together to mutate the strongest victims of the effected areas into Neo-Humans; the elements act as…steroids, if you will.  They increase the human's brain IQ, strength, learning abilities, and other various subjects.  The only reason I haven't deployed any of these tactics is because I don't know the reproduction capabilities.  The Neo-Human I have now is a female and I need a male so I can see if the formula is worth using on a mass of people.  Millions will die but I destroy New York City then I will have approximately six thousand Neo-Humans at my control, ready to mutate the rest of the world.  They will be invincible…"

  Bomb New York City?!  No way, I thought, quickly analyzing the problem I had put myself into…I was working for the biggest nutcase on the planet since Hitler…he doesn't want to better humanity, he just wants invincibility and security.  

  "Do you understand, Asazi?  The power that Earth could have, the knowledge…we could go out and conquer the galaxy with our evolution.  We might kill many on the world but those that will survive will breed and the first generation of Neo-Humans will be born."

  I hesitated and tried to think…so I said, "I believe I see what you're saying.  But I need some time to rest and think.  Do I sleep here now or what?"

  "Yes, yes, of course.  Forgive my imprudent manners; I was eager to share with you my lonely life's work.  Just follow the trilibug."  One of the tiny machines jumped out from nowhere and started its little legs toward a hallway.  I looked at X and he nodded…so I followed, gathering my thoughts on what was happening.  

  I've been working for a madman…let alone, a successful madman.  How could I have gotten myself into this?  And he said that he had been keeping an eye on me my whole life, the whole time I thought I was safe—my heart went cold.  …Did he send the people to kill Torin, Travion, and Summer?  Is he the one responsible for bringing me out of the heaven I'd always dreamed of?  I began to taste bittersweet flavor of betrayal on my tongue and a barely controllable rage begin to set in on my mind; the whole picture began to set it on my mind.

  He had retrained me; he had put me right back into the battlefield, bringing all my reflexes and instincts into action.  He let me get comfortable so he could experiment on my friends and me, so he could study and analyze me.  So he could use and try to control me for his own purposes…  …And to think that I once thought I cherished him.

  The trilibug stopped and a door opened to her right; she stepped in and was surprised by the neatness and size of the room.  It was very large, with blue walls and a king-size bed; a sofa was off to the left and on the same wall as the door, a bulletin board ten feet long and as tall as the ceiling was on the wall, covered in a variety of guns and various weapons.  Man, where's he get the money for this stuff?  There were two other doors in the room and one of them revealed a huge bathroom, the other a hallway that led to a target range, with another wall of weapons and ammo.  

  I went back to the bed and sat on it, and in a few minutes I was lying under the covers, trying to figure what I could to stop Dr. X from harming all those people…

-_-

The plan I had come up with was much simpler than I thought my conclusion would've been but at the same time, it had its complications; every mission he sent her on that involved mass destruction, she would botch it up when she could but the hard part was keeping it masked…

  Unfortunately, the next morning, Xynan—Dr. X told her, "Alright, your performances were unbelievable but I need to know if the experiments that were performed on you in early years had any effect for the better…this means years of training…the whole time you will be paid and free to do what you wish on the weekends.  Is this all right?  You will, of course, be getting paid in good fortune, that I can guarantee you, since you have access to your bank account any time that you are outside the oilrig…do you agree, Ms. Asazi?"

  I quickly analyzed the situation; years of training…that means he's going to continue his experimentation on the Neo-Human when he's not working with me…there won't be any way to stop him unless I do this…  "Okay," I said, and he nodded with satisfaction.  "Good, for your first part of training, you will go to this large rectangle over here," he pointed as he started rolling his way towards a large pad with colors flashing in different places…

  "Anticipate which color will come next.  It's observation that will save you in a battle and being able to see formations and…patterns…" I jumped onto a blue one that lit up, then onto a yellow one and the I saw the numbers beginning to swirl through my head, calculating every possible pattern there could be—I stopped it and just jumped to a red one that I knew wouldn't light up.  "AA," I shouted as light electric shock went through my foot; I instinctively jumped off of the huge pad.  "What the hell was that," I yelled.

  Dr. X wore a disenchanted expression and was muttering something to himself…after a moment he said, "Let's move onto something else, shall we?  Your…abilities aren't as I anticipated.  Let's move onto my simulation grid."

  He rolled his way through various hallways and I followed; the room we penetrated, when we finally got there, was huge.  I blinked.  And it was empty.  There was nothing there except a number pad on the wall next to the door; Dr. X rolled over to it and typed in a six-digit code, the first four numbers being 3-2-7-5, the rest I missed.  When he pressed what I figured was an enter button, the room changed almost immediately, into a raining environment; it was Florida, palm trees here and there and a beach…clouds swirling overhead revealed that there was a hurricane.

  Memories flooded back into mind.  FLASH!  _I shivered and glanced back at the storm. It was coming, the clouds swirling and beginning to cover up the moon. I remembered seeing these storms on the news…_

_Me and my mom used to watch the news every now and then. One time it talked about these huge storms that had strong winds and ferocious rain and nasty floods… I snapped my fingers, trying to think of the name of them… **Hurricane!** That was it…the weatherman also said that people died in hurricanes, especially when not in a safe place **inside**…I had nowhere to go…a shelter? Were there any shelters in Miami, home of the beach?  Of course there is! There's gotta be a hurricane shelter somewhere around here. I left the park and started jogging around town. I was in a nice neighborhood; there had to be a storm shelter somewhere.  The wind slowly began to pick up and sped up a little more…_

_I glanced up toward the skies. The moon was gone now, dark clouds moving in on Miami, the clouds swirling slowly in a circle._  FLASH!

  "…Happens in here will happen in real life," X was saying.  "This sort of technology is only seen in the movies but in fact, it's been around for over a year; it's just a challenge to get a hold of it.  Do you understand?"  

  I blinked and said, "What's the main point?"

  "That whatever happens to you in here will happen to you for real; the pain is real though the bullet isn't…the computer's make it real.  They control the air in the room and will force it into you like a bullet, and it's rather excruciating…I think you've been shot though so I won't describe what it's like.  We're going to use this room for training purposes only.  We're going to start off very light, very simple."  Suddenly, there was a gun in her hand and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye.  I jumped to my left and raised the pistol at the movement to see a man holding a rifle pointed at me; I fired three rounds, each one piercing his left side, one probably hitting his heart.  

  I hit the ground and rolled back up, jumping to my feet.  I was suddenly in camouflage clothes and they were soaked with rain.  I looked for Xynan but couldn't find him; his voice was suddenly filling the room, "The reason the fake rain is affecting you is because the computer's control the air **and** with that ability comes the possibility of adding molecules to make t humid, hot, cold, and many other climates and possibilities.  The ground is actually air programmed to have its pressure give away like the environment's ground would.  For example, a sand dune would feel like a sand dune as you go up; the pressure and/or the density of the air under your feet makes it feel like sand or whatever texture there is going to be.  The colors are there because there are projectors that project the color of a tree of air, so you know that there's a tree there.  Like I mentioned earlier, amazing technology; very expensive and hard-to-find."

  I looked around and he had one last comment before I was thrust into an engaging fight; "Your reflexes will save you—if you have control of how to react to them."  Almost right after he said that, four people were coming over a hill in the distance, each one with rifles in their hands and looking around.  I jumped for a nearby push, splashing in the mud.

  The adrenaline began to flow freely and took a quick glance after a few seconds of hiding; one was ducking behind a bush on the hill and the others had all taken different positions on the hill, giving them perfect angles of the scene.  If one took a hit, the others would know almost exactly where to look."  I turned the other way and saw the one farthest to the left, sweeping the area with the scope his rifle.  I had to take the shot; I raised my pistol and took aim…I fired and missed, fired again and his head burst open.  Moving fast, I rolled more to my left, revealing the hill and their positions, as well as mine.  I fired four more shots, two of them hitting two different targets.  

  I cried out as mud suddenly started flying up in front of me and hitting my eyes; I jumped up and then dove back to my hiding place behind the bush, trying to rub the mud out of my eyes.  "You see Ms. Asazi, that not all reflexes are for the better.  You leapt to your feet as an instinct and revealed your whole position to the last target.  Be careful, because he's still out there and I can't stop him."  

  I felt like cussing X out for this but I didn't…because he was right.  My reflex exposed my whole body to the enemy and he probably took shots at me…I stiffened my grip on the pistol and looked around a corner of the bush.  The target wasn't where he had been and—gunfire erupted and I started to pull back but my foot slipped in the mud and I fell on my back, crying out as I scrambled back behind the bush.  My target had moved a full ninety-degrees of an angle, almost ready to shoot me where I thought I was safe.  **Light training**, I thought with antagonism.  

  Searching for my target in the thick rain, I saw a flash of movement and I pulled back.  I knew where he was; now it was just trying to hit him.  I turned around the other corner of the bush and saw his gun sticking out from behind a bush.  It started to swing up as his hat came into view; I raised my pistol and as soon as I saw skin below his hat I took the shot, sending a bullet straight through the forehead.

  A few seconds later the environment disappeared; she was still soaked as Dr. X entered the room from the way they had come in.  "Well done, Asazi…I was hoping your performance would be better than I anticipated and indeed it was.  You should rest now; go to your room and I'll have something brought to you."  I nodded and left the area, trying to gather my thoughts on what had happened; right before I stepped out of the doorway, my clothes returned to normal and were dry.  So why does a bullet wound stay…?  Oh, because the air pierces and hurts the body; the clothes were undone before I stepped out…  Amazing is right, I thought.  I warily went back to my room and sat down on the sofa…the training was going to be much harder than I had thought…

-_-

The food had been brought by a group of trilibugs that balanced it on their backs, like a group of ants carrying a huge plate of food.  I ate it hungrily, it being the first thing I had eaten all morning.  The food had tint of something that I hadn't tasted before but I figured it was just one of Dr. X's personal spices and that I had better get used to it.  

  Over the next few months we worked in different environments of the room; I came to call it the Hell-To-Be Room, since it seemed to do everything I couldn't stand or almost couldn't take.  Every fight was a challenge and every fight was a very close victory.  

  Until one time it was too much…

  I slipped silently through the trees, walking lowly and cautiously; I was looking for a meadow because I knew that's where all the targets were…my plan was to find the meadow and then climb a nearby tree and snipe out the individuals.  I had lots of ammo so I knew this was going to long and agonizing.  I had a sniper rifle strapped around my back, a pistol and another rifle that I could put around my back but had in my hands.  

  The environment was quite simple, actually; it was thick, pine-tree forest, and everything was wet, as if a lot of rain had ceased to fall, making most everything I stepped on quiet.  There were clouds overhead so the day was gray and dull and, simply put, my kind of fighting weather.  I pulled out a pair of binoculars and studied my surroundings and found the meadow…estimating the distance from myself to the meadow, I found which tree I was going to climb.  The meadow was a good four hundred yards away, my tree about a hundred fifty from the pasture.  The field had very tall weeds and the objectives were going to be hard to hit.  The tall pine-tree didn't have any branches for the first forty-to-fifty feet of it's body, but judging from the thickness of it, I could climb it in less than a minute.  

  I had learned a lot and was probably in the as good shape as a U.S. Marine or Navy Seal.  There were unbelievable ways of training people without guns as a motivator; for instance, I learned to climb these kinds of pine-trees very fast because a pack of rabid wolves was chasing me.  

  I made my way very vigilantly through the woods, toward my tree.  I was positive that I was getting very close to the danger zone, positive that there had to be enemies nearby.  I stopped behind a tree and glanced around it, my breath held because the weather was cold and someone could see my breath.  I couldn't see anyone or any motion and my tree was just twenty more yards.  I scanned the trees around me for anyone that could be up in them and—there!  Somebody _was_ in a tree; I gently slipped back behind the tree, careful that no sudden movement would attract his attention.  

  I slipped my regular rifle into its hold in my back as I slipped out my sniper rifle…then I slowly turned back around the tree and took a knee, the scope's motion coming towards my eye…the pinpoint was to the right of my target and I tenderly moved it to the left, focusing in on his heart; he wasn't looking my direction at the moment…I squeezed the trigger and the quiet _phft _of the sniper rifle penetrated the air.  I pulled the rifle away and looked at my target; he was slumped against a large branch bulging from the tree.  I smiled and pulled back around the tree to put the sniper rifle away; if anyone looked at that lookouts position, they would see that he was still up there and wouldn't think anything of his position because they would assume it would be harder for me to see him if he was like that.  Complicated, but extravagantly strategic; I pulled the regular rifle back out finished the way to the tree.

  Scanning the area again one last time, I slipped the rifle back around my back and started scampering up the tree; that was the main problem with climbing these trees…you had to climb really fast or you weren't going to make it.  Hoping no one would notice the quick motion of me going up the tree, I kept going when I heard a bullet slam in the tree below me, where I had been a split second earlier.  Cursing, I kept going up the tree and the bullets followed, getting closer each time when suddenly, bark erupted in an upward direction from the tree right next to my eye and I had to stop myself from crying out.  

  I stopped climbing and a bullet hit next to my ribs and another above my head.  Then I slid down the tree, ignoring the pain that came from it scraping off the skin on my arms; at about twenty feet I jumped from the tree, letting gravity take me the rest of the way.  I landed in a bunch of pine needles and grabbed the rifle as I got to my feet.  

  As I quickly found cover, I tried to find where my attacker's positions.  There were two that were shooting at me and no doubt the others were closing in on where I was.  Frantically I searched for them but I couldn't see anybody; I kept the rifle up and saw motion come from a bush about fifty yards away…someone was behind it because I could see through parts of it and the background kept getting interrupted.  I packed my firearm and pulled out the sniper rifle, quickly taking aim and disposing the foe with one headshot.  

  I ducked back behind my shrub and searched the trees but saw nothing.  There was nobody that I could see but I knew I could be seen.  I looked at what I could see of the paddock and saw a figure aiming at me; **no**, I thought as I raised the swiftly raised the rifle but before I could take aim I dove to the side, and he fired just over a second later…if I would've tried to shoot him, I'd have been shot…

  Angry and using small shrubs and plants, I kept my back hunched and walked to the nearest tree and leaned against it, calculating where his location was from my last angle to the present one.  Hoping he hadn't moved, I took a prompt glimpse of where he had been and he began to move his rifle towards me; I jerked my head back behind the tree and readied the rifle.  I then swung around the other edge of the tree and brought the rifle up to my eye, took aim, and fired before he could get a shot off.  I missed but it caused him to get scared and drop to the ground; I followed him with my scope, and then sent a bullet through his spinal cord, immediately getting back behind the tree after I had taken the shot.  

  The adrenaline was flowing madly through my veins but I somehow stopped my vision from turning blue and doing the number thing; X **can't** know that I can do that…if he does, I'll become a guinea pig just like that Neo-Human that he's working with…  A thought suddenly flashed across my mind…wait a second…I've never seen the Neo-Human…how do I know that he even has one?  He might be bluffing…but why would he bluff about something like that?  What would be the point…?  Blinking, I quickly brought my attention to the present situation; X was always able to see what was happening in the Hell-To-Be Room and she had to pay attention.  

  I saw activity in the corner of my eye and instinctively brought my rifle up to my eye to see someone moving between trees.  When he popped out from another one, I killed him and ducked back behind my corner only to—, "AAA," I cried out as a hammer of a gun smashed into my face.  I fell back to the ground, my right hand reaching for my hunter's knife underneath my body; I silently unsheathed it as the assailant kicked me in the ribs.  

  I heard him cock the hammer of his gun and I whirled around and threw the knife blindly, my other hand going for my pistol; he dodge the knife, his voice showing surprise, his eyes showing more surprise when he heard the pistol shots in sync with the bullets stabbing his chest four times.  I got to my feet and got behind the tree, wiping the blood from my nose and the cut that had somehow cut across my cheek.  

  There was another gunshot and I scooted over because bark spewed from a tree in front of me.  How many are there, I wondered as I picked up my sniper rifle.  The meadow was over a hundred yards away…if I could get into the those tall weeds then maybe I could become the hunter because right now I'm definitely the prey.  The grass or weeds or whatever it was was a good six-feet tall and probably easy to make your way through.  Easy to get snuck up on, too, I mentally noted.  

  Putting my sniper rifle away and getting the regular rifle out, I sprinted to the next tree successfully.  I did it again, and again, and then three more times, getting ever so close to the edge of the field.  The seventh time I sprinted for the next tree, a shotgun went off and I felt a couple pellets go into the back of my leg; I fell to the ground as I ran but got back to my feet as quickly as I could and got to the tree.  The pain was bad but not as bad as a regular bullet; I just have to ignore it.  Running again to the next tree, another shot went off but nothing hit me.

  Dammit, I thought, no way I can make another run without getting hit…but he probably thinks I'm going to go for it…  I stepped out from behind the tree on the opposite side of the one he was expecting me to come from and saw him crouching against a tree; I shot three rounds and his body vibrated, falling back on the ground.  I watched him for a second to make sure he was down, and then sprinted again for the next tree.

  I examined the new area I was in and found that there wasn't anybody that was easy to see but I did see one person hiding behind a plant about forty yards away; he was probably waiting for me to come out into the open…I raised the rifle and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

  I tried to remember the very short briefing Dr. X had given her…  "There will be no more than twenty adversary's but no less than seven.  Intelligence shows that they are average-to-good marksman and are a very strategically enhanced group.  This one you will want to take very slowly, Asazi…very carefully.  Time doesn't matter but when you start, you will be an hour till sunset.  Keep that in mind…" I frowned, knowing there was something else but I couldn't place it.  An hour till sunset…perhaps I could get on the other side of the meadow and wait over there for dark to come, then go hunting…by then they'll all be getting antsy.

  With a renewed determination and a hopefully hopeful plan, I ran to the next tree without incident…then ran the ten yards to the grass line and it was like running through a wall…I was suddenly surrounded by grass that was eight feet tall and more than easy to hide someone in.  Stepping as softly as I could, I made my way through the field, my pistol now equipped with a silencer and my other hand armed with my last hunting knife.  I tried to keep my tracks clear but bent grass was very hard to fix so after awhile I gave up on it.

  Slowly moving through the meadow and very carefully looking for any kind of motion, I continued…suddenly a guy leaped out from the left and I slashed wildly with my knife, clawing his face apart and killing him almost instantly…  I grimaced at the mess and wiped the blood that was on the knife onto his clothes, and then kept going.   It felt like I was going in a straight line but I wasn't sure…I had completely lost my sense of direction; it was like I was in a maze.  

  How many were left, I wondered; I had walked at least a hundred fifty yards when I came to the other end of the meadow.  There were fewer trees, which meant less cover, but also less likelihood that her enemies would be glancing this way.  Slipping my weapons into their appropriate places, I left the meadow and silently walked to the nearest tree, immediately scampering up it as fast as I could.  It was shorter than most of the nearby ones, about twenty feet in height, but I was a perfect sniper position.

  It was as I was climbing that I finally noticed how dark it was; the sun was probably already gone from the horizon and darkness had envelope the area.  There was still a blue-grayish tint my eyesight but in less than ten minutes, it was going to be dark and a night like a New Moon, because of the cloud cover.  

  I got comfortable in the tree and pulled out my sniper rifle, activated the night vision on it and began to scan the other end of the meadow for my opponents; by now they had to know that she had escaped their little trap and was probably beyond their limits…it was just a matter of what they would think about that…  

  I spotted one in my scope and looked around the target for any others, only to find that there were six of them crouching, a couple moving their arms every few seconds…they're having a meeting, I realized.  I smiled an evil grin and began to aim at the guy that had the closest cover…I embraced the trigger and he fell back, a cry echoing through the milieu; I quickly gunned down those that hadn't instantaneously found cover, leaving two targets to go.  I could hear shouts and yells, which told me there were more than two targets left overall.  

  Suddenly, both of the two guys that had survived my ambush ran out from their hiding places at the same time; I hastily shot one through the head and then turned a little to find the other one but he was nowhere to be seen…where'd you go you little—there!  He started running out from behind a tree and I fired three rounds, the second two going through his chest and head.  It's hard to hit people in the dark, especially when they're that far away, I complained silently.  

  Pulling the sniper rifle away, I squinted, searching the area for movement…whoever was left probably knew that their partners' meeting had just been screwed and was probably either scared shitless or just going to wait for awhile, for my guard to drop or something…sorry bud, not me.  I've stayed awake sixty-four hours straight and I'm pretty sure I can do it again.  My belly rumbled and I added another thought, I don't know about my tummy though…

  I leaned back and took a deep breath…things got quiet…and after awhile, sleep began to tug on my eyes…I didn't fight too hard and fell asleep, according to my watch, for about an hour.  When I woke up I was instantly alert, afraid that they might've snuck up on me but instead, the leftovers had created a catastrophe.  The meadow was burning; the field of grass that made you invisible was burning to the ground.  They had obviously started the fire at the ends of the field and it was closing in on the middle, and—**shit**!  They did this so they could **see** where I was!  I put the sniper rifle away and frantically climbed out of the tree; if I hadn't already been see, then I would soon, when that meadow was gone.  I started running from the pasture, up a hill that would hopefully give me a position when I heard a shot, and a gunshot following it.  

  I dove for the ground and, as I flew through the air, I heard a bullet wiz by my ear.  I quickly rolled to the nearest tree and tried to catch my breath and calm down; the adrenaline was flowing and the numbers were trying to start up again.  NO, I thought as I gripped the tree, keeping myself from reacting to the numbers swirling around.  I cannot give in to those **or** the program…I have to **fight**!  I pulled my standard rifle out and leapt from behind the tree, shooting rounds to nowhere; I saw a quick flash of light and a split second later my hip exploded in pain.  I ignored it and shot at where the gunshot had come from; the sounds of an automatic rifle went off and I saw rapid bursts of light start to fly up.  He was dead, just pulling the trigger as he fell back.

  More gunshots other than my own filled the air and my sniper rifle flew from my hands and a bullet ricocheted off of the gun and into my side.  Crying out in pain and at the sniper rifle flying away, I fell to the ground and tried to pull out my other rifle.  The pain was overwhelming but I fought to stay calm and think clearly; panic wouldn't help me at all.

  The rifle in one hand, the other holding my side, I slowly got to my feet, the heat of the flames burning on my face and lighting my position.  I started to run across the meadow, through the flames; this was the only way to do it, to take them by surprise and throw them off.  I was a rat in a cage if I stayed over there.  I saw someone and shot the rifle once and they fell to the ground.  Another motion too big to ignore and the rifle shot two more rounds until the figure fell to the ground.  I kept running, even though I felt my pants were catching fire.  

  I was almost completely across the field and had killed four more when two bullets came from different directions, one piercing my left leg and the other going into my right shoulder; the impacts through me off balance, not to mention the pain suddenly flooding my brain.  I hit the ground, dropping the rifle while rolling and rolling until the momentum slowed and friction pulled me to a complete stop.  Wincing and howling in pain, I tried to get to my feet but didn't get past my knees when there was suddenly a boot in my vision; the next second, my face gushed with pain and blood as I flew back from the kick in the face.  

  There were more, multiple kicks sent into me, too many to count and then they stopped…I opened my eyes to find two guys standing over me, a look of disgust on their face as one of them started to raise a pistol in my direction…

  I pulled out my second hunting knife and executed the throw so swiftly that I don't think neither of them saw it coming.  The knife sunk right into one the guys' foreheads and the other male gave a start…I used that to my advantage and spun my right leg at his feet, pulling him from the ground.  He fell back and hit his head on a log; the last I saw before I closed my eyes in abhorrence was the insides of his head spilling from his head.

  I suddenly felt a shot of air fly through my abdomen, blood shooting out in front of me.  Yelling in pain, I fell forward, twisting as I fell to see my attacker…  He hovered over me, a gun in his hand and a gleam in his eye that said he had won.  I fought the pain that was seizing my body and got to my feet, jumping at him; it surprised him but he quickly raised his gun and put another bullet in my shoulder.  I hit him, my hands instantly reaching for his head and twisted it, breaking his neck…

  Almost immediately the environment was gone and I landed on a cold, steel floor, my vision fading and…pain…horrible pain….

-_-

The next few months I was either in bed or rehab.  The injuries I had sustained were extreme and X seemed very worried about me handling future missions…I'm not sure how many months I spent healing and out of business…  Most of it is just a blur of X injecting drugs into my veins and me sleeping.  And he kept me constantly updated on his "Neo-Humans"…one day he had come in very excitedly and was claiming to have created a male Neo-Human…

  That scared me…because if he knew I saw the numbers, then he would try to breed me with him.  And **that** would not be right…

-_-

Finally, I was ready for action.  I was to retrieve a computer disk that was in the headquarters of some agency called INTERCEPT; X said that if I got the disk, the plans for 'revolutionizing' the human race would be complete…I knew what I had to do, and it might've risked blowing my cover, but by now it didn't matter…I had to stop X before he destroyed the planet.

  I was inside the building without a problem.  It was twenty-story building with high security but that doesn't matter when you've got technology like Xynan…like Dr. Xs'.  I was also out without a problem, which was good and bad—I didn't have an excuse to destroy the disk.  

  So the mission was completed and he praised me for it…and it wasn't more than a day later that I walked in on him watching TV…he looked at me as I entered and he said, "Watch this, Asazi…I believe that he was one of your friends in high school."

  It was Alex Mann, performing in the Master Dome…I stopped and watched, breathless at some of the things he was doing and, when the show ended, his smiling face looking into the camera, Dr. X looked at me and said, "I have a new plan."

  He left me and I went to my room…and began to cry…

  Images of me being happy in high school and spending time in athletics with Alex, and going on dates with Torin all flooded my thoughts…and the thought that made me cry harder was…_what would Torin think if he saw me now, saw me killing people without hesitation…?_

  I wept, harder and harder, realizing I had become as much a monster as Dr. X…_he brainwashed me into a cold-blooded killer…he killed **me** and created what I am now…  He **will** die…_  And that thought made me sob even more…

**Author's Note**

It's almost over…let me know how it is coming along…the next chapter will be **really** long so don't go into it unless you know you have the time for it.  Thanks SO MUCH to those of you that have reviewed this story.  Your reviews are one of my few motivations and I hope you continue to let me know.  (and keep the constructive criticism coming too; as much as I hate it, I know I need it J)


	36. Double Agent

Asazi Chapter 36 

This is it…hopefully you'll understand who I am by reading all of this…  Then again, maybe you won't; I don't know who I am, who's to say you would?

"Alex…Alex Mann…" His laugh sent shivers down my spine; the way he was talking made him sound like he was literally drooling over the thought of Alex…  "Yes, Mr. Mann, we have news for you."  He laughed again and I looked away in disgust.  Xynan…Dr. X was unaware of my presence, lost in his own demented world of delusion and insanity.

  The thought struck me quite suddenly; now.  Kill him now, never worry about him again, start over, finish him, save Alex, save **yourself**…I looked around the room and saw a fire hydrant hanging on the wall.  Bash it on his head, something inside me screamed.  I agreed…I walked over to it, as quietly as I could, pulled it off the wall and silently approached him…a few more steps…

  He whirled around and faced me, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Asazi, what are you doing?"

  "I…I, oh, there were alarms going off for a few moments a minute ago and I came looking for you; I grabbed this off the wall right there."

  He hesitated, then said, "I didn't hear any alarms, Asazi…are you feeling okay?  If not, I have many medications for—''

  "**NO**…I mean, no, I'm fine, I'll just go lie down for awhile…"

  He nodded and replied, "Take it easy Asazi."

  Take it easy?  Something's wrong…X doesn't say stuff like that.  What's going on?  I decided not to pursue it and returned to my room, going asleep with my gun under the pillow and trying not to think about who I was and what I was just about to do.

-_-

Six days later and I'm outside the Astrodome, awaiting my first encounter with Action Man, or my former high school friend Alex.  Dr. X gave me a very detailed briefing as to what I was to do; find him, disable him, tranquilize him, and then bring him back as soon as possible.  Hopefully Alex would put up a good fight and I wouldn't have to do anything to him; I'd have an excuse…why don't I just run?  Why don't I just take the helicopter and leave, run away?  The answer was in my head before I even finished my thoughts…because X owns you now.  He's got implants in you, you have the AMP Factor, you are forever stuck with until he is dead.

  This is too much, I concluded…**NO**!  I will not hurt Alex; he is my friend. Tears came again.  Why?  Why am I so lost?  

  God, where are you?  Are you even there?  Do you really exist?  **Help me**, I pleaded…

  I heard a helicopter's rotor blades that had been in the distance getting closer and would've dismissed had I not heard the voice of Agent Diana shouting, "DON'T MOVE!"  I was on the roof of a building outside the Astrodome minding my own business…how'd they find me?  INTERCEPT.

  I dove off the side of building, grabbing the ledge with my arm causing my body to be flung through a termite-infested wood wall that was temporarily installed due to a hole in the building.  I had already scouted the building and had many escape routes.  I heard gunfire hitting the concrete roof right where I had been and the helicopter flying over the roof.  I readied my bow-rifle with it's explosive arrows.  It had recently become a personal favorite, particularly because my targets were always thrown around by the blast.  Sickening, you stupid bitch.  'Particularly because my targets were always thrown around…  I tried not to think about it as I saw the helicopter fly into view, starting to turn around to face my location.

  I pulled the trigger.

  The arrow flew.

  It hit right on target: the rotor blades.  The helicopter's roof exploded in fire and was propelled into the ground at a hundred-mile-per-hour speed, the metal getting crushed on impact and the people inside…I closed my eyes.  More bloodshed caused by my hands.  Pathetic of me; I don't know who I am, but until then I'll keep killing everybody.  I shook my head and turned around, starting to walk away when something slammed into my back.  I flew forward, my gun flying out of my hands into the rafters of the attic.

  I heard a woman's voice say, "You were supposed to stay still.  Not kill my fellow agents."

  I got to my feet and turned around to see Agent Diana facing me, her face a cold hatred that told me I might lose this one just because she obviously wasn't planning on bringing me in for questioning.

  "You just killed three men, two of which were excellent pilots and one who was just put on the job, your age.  How do you feel about that?"

  "Horrible," I replied as earnestly as I could.  She sneered, then lunged at me; I dove to the right and sent my left leg into the side of her head as I flew.  She cried out in pain and I hit the ground, rolling to my feet and prepared for another defensive maneuver.  The Agent got to her feet and looked at me, blood trickling from the lip I just busted.  "You know," she said, "I've always hated your kind." She kicked at me, I blocked, then again and again until she threw a combo at me, her fist landing in a kidney of mine, then another into my solar plexus.  The air got knocked out of me and the kidney caused me to fall to my knees.  Diana sent an elbow in my back and I was flat on my stomach, the pain overwhelming my senses.

  And then it began…the world, or at least everything I could see, began to shift colors toward a dark blue and the strange numbers of beyond-me mathematics started swirling around the room, towards the rafters, towards my gun that I could now see, towards Diana, towards—everything went black.

-_-

I was cold.  I could feel the goose bumps on my arms and legs through the fabric of my clothing…I opened my eyes and I was in a room with a door, sitting in a chair with my arms tied around the back of it.  My legs were tied too and I smiled, thinking, Hehe, they're not taking any chances.  

  I only noticed the door after it had opened and two men walked in wearing suits, followed by the infamous Agent Diana, whose lip, I noted, had already healed…how long have been out?  "Hello Asazi," she said without any tone or emotion.  She sat in a chair and the two men remained steady and standing.  "We're here to torture you."

  I smiled, "Oh, that's nice."

  "But if you will just comply and answer each question with one-hundred percent honesty and lack of hesitation, I'm sure that we can avoid the more painful methods of attaining information."  

  I pretended to think about it for a second, then replied, "I think I prefer the 'answer honestly' option over the 'methods of attaining' choice."

  I swear her face flickered with disappointment, but it was so fast and nearly unnoticeable that I wasn't sure… "Okay, what's your first question?"

  "First—," she gestured to her two men who produced a suitcase from behind them and opened it, "we hook you up to a polygraph machine.  Just for the technical people in my department.  I'm usually pretty good at telling whether or not people are lying."

  The two plugged in there machine and began attaching the leads around my body; leads are the small, circular patches.  Diana watched silently as I was hooked up to the machine; they placed six leads around my body, one on top of my heart, another on my right wrist, my elbows the fifth on my left leg and the sixth on the left side of my temple.

  "Asazi, where is Dr. X's headquarters?"  I answered promptly, each question for hours.  I watched her facial expressions slowly soften as, for the first time in my life, I was completely honest and able to share my whole life's story.  The two men never flinched when I mentioned that I had been molested repeatedly by an uncle, that my parents had died in a car accident, that I was a panicked, gun-wielding and lost girl of a young age, but Diana…her expression changed.  However slowly, it did change.  She softened and at one point she left the room.  Maybe I'm imagining her emotion, trying to take my mind off of the memories that were coming back with the questions she was asking.

  I never lied and the machine never showed I did.  I figured they'd eventually get it all out of me anyway.  Finally, after hours, Diana stopped and just leaned back in her chair, thinking.  I watched her, silently and wondering what she was thinking…

  After minutes of silence, Diana said, "Would it b safe to say that you would be a double-agent for INTERCEPT?"

  My jaw dropped.

-_-

So here I am, a lost woman in her younger twenties, trying to find herself, a double-agent, and with a fling for  Alex Mann.  You're all caught up.  My journal ends sort of abruptly because of Dr. X; I have no privacy when I'm with him.  Anyways, it's not always Alex who messes up X's plans…there are many insane, stupid ways that Dr. X has tried to create Neo-Humans but has failed.  He always blames it on what he calls the 'human-factor'…the fact that he's not a Neo-Human actually, I think, causes him pain.  Every time something grows wrong he blames it on not being a perfect Neo-Human.

  I'm still surprised I haven't gotten caught yet.

  I figured I'd be able to help INTERCEPT for about three or four months and then Xynan would find out and kill me.  Then again, I think the main reason he trusts me so much is because he was Xynan, and he still remembers the few good times we had together before Brink.

  Needless to say, if Xynan's not dead, Dr. X wants him to be…

  I'm hoping that Alex will kill Dr. X.  Ever since I started for INTERCEPT I haven't taken a life, and I plan on keeping that way.  I'm leaving it to Alex.

  I hope Torin would be proud.  Travion and Summer too…even Mom and Dad…

The End 


End file.
